the slightly macabre _whatup_ list
1. my nanny died very early monday morning.
2. luckily i had four-wheeled transportation at hand and was delivered to south nassau county hospital within the hour.
3. i observed my freshly-expired yet lovely nanny. the tubes were gone. she was peaceful.
4. i fixed her hair and petted her and told her things, including the l-word, repeatedly.
5. i was told that the soul, or neshama, floats above the body for three days before going to wherever souls go.
6. aside from my nanny's body being kind of hard, her complection was beautiful and she looked very, very tiny.
7. i was asked by my aunt gladys to compose a speech, to be delivered at the funeral service that was to be held the next day, tuesday.
8. i went to nanny's yellow apartment in far rockaway and chose a lovely gown for her burial. while a shroud is the correct garment since it has no pockets and returns to the earth more quickly, both gladys and alice (my mother) thought she would prefer a gown since she was on her way to be reunited with poppy. and so it was.
9. i hunted for appropriate bloomers but found only a simple cotton pair. i felt bad.
10. i found a note on the back of a notepad indicating the order of importance of the family, as seen by nanny. i came first. while we all knew that, it was cool to see it in writing. i awarded the much-sought-after earrings to linda, who received them happily. now, there should be peace.
11. kosher deli sandwiches were eaten.
12. calls to nanny's old friends were made.
13. feelings were felt.
14. coffee was drunk.
15. neighbors visited.
16. funeral was held.
17. speech was made.
18. casket was laid into ground.
19. acts of loving kindness were performed.
20. friends showed up and visited.
21. cold cuts were purchased.
22. yiddish was spoken.
23. nails were bitten.