RE: My Legacy

Forgive me if this entry sounds a little weird. My blogging skills are a little rusty…..!

My mom called me to tell me that my Grandmother passed away yesterday.

I’m glad she did because if I’d found from my brother’s post on his Facebook page, I probably would’ve been upset. That’s the kind of news you really deserve to get a phone call for (when it’s a family member, anyway).

And, aside from feeling the normal amounts of sad – she’d been in and out of hospitals for a while now; we all knew this was coming – I started thinking about all the deaths I’ve seen communicated through social media….

…..and all the humorous ways those deaths can be exploited.

Hey – everybody grieves differently.

It didn’t take long after my dad passed away when I was a teenager for me to start talking about it with a sense of humor, either. I didn’t feel bad about it then because I think he wouldn’t have minded. But I do feel a little guilty when it’s my Grandma. She was a nice woman who didn’t have the same dark sense of humor that I inherited from my dad, so I’m a little worried her ghost might find it ‘offensive’.

When I die, I’m going to stipulate in my will the following ways I deem acceptable for people to talk about me. They shall include, and are limited to, the following:

ACCEPTABLE:

• ·         Using my death for your dark humor (as long as I’m not the butt of the joke)
• ·         Exploiting my passing to take time off of work or school
• ·         Using my death as an excuse for your poor performance (similar to “El Nino” or “Thanks, Obama!”)
• ·         Announcing my death on my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Blog account pages.
• o   My passwords will be written into my will & bequeathed to my successors  & loved ones.

UNACCEPTABLE:

• ·         Announcing my death on anyone else’s Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• ·         Blaming me for someone else’s mistakes
• ·         Starting a kickstarter campaign or Memorial fund on my behalf (the only exception being if I don’t leave behind enough money for a proper burial or funeral).
• o   Don’t balk. It happens.

One of the reasons this is on my mind is I’ll have to fly back home to Hawaii for the funeral and my department is really under-staffed at the moment. I feel guilty taking time off now, but part of me is glad I can do it without fear of looking like “a slacker”.

So, in a way, my Grandma’s death is kind of a good thing!

Hey – like I said: we all grieve in our own ways.  

Anyway, here's to my Grandma. I'm glad I got one last 'selfie' with her in it before she passed on.