I printed your blog and put it on my bulletin board. It is next to a picture of a dodo bird and a buffalo (when Arlene & I went out, we came upon a yard with a stuffed buffalo and I talked about it for days so she finally had to put a picture up).
My mother said this to me one Friday. She spent the whole Thursday before thinking it was actually Friday, when of course it was Thursday. Understand? She was one step ahead, etc. But if you read the quote without that bit of context, I think it's remarkably insightful and somewhat... chilling? We see Friday as the savior of the weary work week. When really, it's just... well, I'll let you do the rest of the thinking for yourself.
We got an e-mail yesterday asking us to contribute to a donation for a fellow employee. She's been on disability for 2 months. She has under 2 years to live, but no one will talk out loud about the fact that she's d-y-i-n-g. It's all innuendos - very hush, hush. She was cheerful, a little mischievous and sometimes a little pesky. She was the first person here who made me feel 'at home' in my new job. She was here one day and the next thing we knew, she was having her spleen removed. I think about how awful it must be for her - she has grandchildren and children she's leaving behind. But then I think she's really been very lucky to have those children and she's been to Ireland and led a very active life. So who knows if checking out early is really a bad thing? I wonder if she's afraid. Depressed? Does she even know the prognosis? And who the hell is going to take her place? And why do we have to spend so much of our life working?
She's often in a pair of dark knit slacks with a sweatshirt from Ireland or one that says, 'Ask Me About My Grandchildren.' Maybe now she's wearing one that says 'Don't Ask Me How I'm Doing. I'm Dying'.
A Life More Illustrated is the words of Dena Aud and the illustrations of Jordan Shavarebi. They are mother and son and live very far away from one another. In Dena's spare time, she enjoys telling Jordan about her day. Jordan enjoys drawing the interesting parts.