Death, obviously, is a literal business.
I remember seeing a billboard in my town a couple of weeks ago advertising cremations for just under $1,000.00. I remember thinking that was a good deal – having more or less remembered the cost for my late husband’s cremation.
When I went back to the same funeral home to make arrangements for my daughter, their cremation price was still $1,500.00. I knew that I was over-paying. Or, rather, my parents were over-paying since they would pay for my daughter’s funeral expenses as they had for my husband (a shitty, amazing, important gift. O stars. Would not recommend). Also, as a professional purchasing agent, I cringe at not shopping around for best prices. But in that place, at that time, I had no other options. I’m not up for shopping around. I don’t have it in me to call multiple funeral homes to look for the best price. I pay a $500 convenience fee.
Today at lunch I had to call Wayne State to formally disenroll her and try to get her refund on the housing and educational deposits.
The housing form had two generic questions – clearly not aimed at any particurlar situation. Question #1 – Why do you need to leave student housing? Question #2 – What has changed?
Everything.
That was my response to the second question.
Everything has changed.
I haven’t gone to her bank yet. She had a second bank account attached to mine so that I could easily pass her money for prescriptions and gas and various whatnots. Two days before she died, I’d put $35 into her account to pay for her synthroid. I moved that money back to my account.
Also on my list of to-do’s at lunch today was mail the donation checks to the Jack and Jill foundation for late stage cancer. More business.
This weekend I have the business of thank-you notes for everyone that helped out.
Amazon got more business from me today – I took another shot at a book for parents that have lost a child. It will arrive next week.
I have the business of returning the items she’d purchased for school. Textbooks that already arrived. A new mattress pad and kettle that need to be returned. Towels and laundry baskets and hampers and extra shelves that all need to go back to their place of origin.
This is a stupid business.
Aloe & Moss 