No offense

The King's Strings plays for a variety of events from fundraisers to Christmas dinners, from weddings to funerals. After one of the latter, I asked Isaac what he thought (meaning, how did the music go?). He responsed by saying, "Well, no offense to the person who invented funerals, but they are really boring." Leave it to a 9 year old (whose name means "laughter", by the way) to point this out.

He's right. What I can't decide, is whether or not this is as it should be. People will be sad and grieving, yes. But does that mean it also has to be boring? I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't have to be.

My Aunt Betty Lou was a wonderful human being. Nothing she did while alive was boring and her funeral, in part planned by her, was far from boring. From her Beanie Baby collection which was divvied out to all those in attendance, to the balloons which were used as decorations and later sent off into the sky, to the singing (a LOT of kids songs from one of her favorite activies - Girls and Boys Club), to remembrances and all the rest. Not a boring moment there. Including when the "B" from the word CELEBRATE, which was plastered across the front of the church, fell down during the service.

But other than that, I think I'd have to agree with Isaac that most funerals fall pretty close to the boring category. Family, listen up, there's a new note on my funeral list - NOT BORING. Do whatever you have to do but don't let it be boring. Andrew could play some practical jokes. Jesse could dress up as a clown and make balloon creations. Mariana could sing a fun song from a musical, maybe Do You Love Me from Fiddler on the Roof as I always said that if I could sing, that's the song I'd sing. Isaac could talk in his annoying elf voice (thanks, Roque). Eden and Hope could do their "Sister" routine.

My grandmother thinks that we should have funerals while we're alive so that we know what people think about us. She's right although I do understand why no one has planned one for her yet. What would people think, and all that.

We recently received an invitation to the memorial service of a 90 year old man. I only ever met this man once but I was deeply touched by his obvious love for the Lord, his wife, and his life. He died one week later. The memorial invitation, written by one of his children, said that family and friends should come to the service dressed informally because that's what her father would have wanted. While we were not able to attend that service, I do think that wearing jeans and sneakers would automatically change things. Dressing formally almost shouts boring.

So please save your best jeans and sweatshirt for my funeral. Whenever that is. Or maybe you can just plan it for while I'm still alive so I can hear what you'd say. I won't be weirded out. Remember, I married the son of a mortician. He had his casket picked out long before we met.