Obsessions, Obituaries, and Old Friends

OK, so here is another sign that I am getting older.....I make sure to read the obituaries everyday. Yes, I admit it, I am an OOC (obsessive obituary checker)...Not to come across as morbid or anything....but I do try to read them everyday...(just another thing to add to my list of other OCD behaviors...like double checking that my car is locked....I have abused that poor little clicker to death!). But here's the deal....many of the parents of my friends are getting older and are going on to be with Jesus....and having lost my Mom a few years back, I realize how much it means to have folks there for you at such devastating times.

Because of the seemingly endless craziness of my life, my Aunt Sadie, whom I love dearly, also afflicted with OOC....actually hers is a little more advanced than mine and has progressed to MOOC (marathon obsessive obituary checker), usually calls me when she sees someone listed that I might know. She reads her paper promptly at 7am each morning.....and she knows I typically do not find time to get the paper out of my box until after dinner.....So unfortunately, there have been times that I have missed services due to my ORT (obituary reading tardiness)....Do people not understand how it throws all of us with OOC into a tailspin when the obituary is only in there for one day?

Well, she called me EARLY Wednesday morning, to let me know that one of my best friends from Junior High School had lost her Mom, and that her visitation was at 6pm that night. My heart just dropped....I knew Mrs. Ann had been ill, but I also had hoped that she would be able to fight the cancer....she was a petite little lady, but she was also a "ball of fire"...and if anyone could beat it, I knew Mrs. Ann was just the candidate! My heart ached for my dear friend.

Because it was a crazy day, I rearranged some meetings, put off some errands, and worked it out so that I could make it to the funeral home by 6pm. Luckily I made it back home in time to change and freshen up. On the way out the driveway, I hurriedly rushed to the paper box to check the obituary in order to make sure I went to the right funeral home.....(my aunt told me the right one, I just needed to feed the OCD monster within and check again)...and I am glad I did!!!

I am happy to say that MY Mrs. Ann is still alive and kicking....she is actually fighting for her life right now through a third round of chemo, SO Y'ALL PRAY FOR HER PLEASE!!!! And never fear, my dear Aunt Sadie has not lost her MOOC status....But by sheer coincidence, there was a Mrs. Ann with the same last name, who had a daughter with the same first name as my friend...it was just another family with similar names..... And while I am sad for their loss, and am so thankful for another day for my friend and her sweet Mom.

I immediately called my friend to let her know what happened....I knew she would want to tell Mrs.Ann....that they would both get a huge kick out of me and my "always in overdrive" self getting all "gussied up" and rushing to the funeral home to pay my respects! (Can you imagine....me.....speeding to the funeral home...signing the book....wondering why I did not know anyone...looking for my friend...not finding her...but still going through the line...paying my respects....and thinking....BOY, Mrs. Ann sure looks "different" but "nice".....It could have been a great disaster, given the circumstances and my big mouth!!)

Later that night, as I was taking off my make up, another memory of Mrs. Ann flooded my mind...she was the person who introduced me to the value of "good" make up...she used Mary Kay,....and on the nights I would spend at their house, Laura and I would always get a short sermonette on why it was important to clean your face properly and wear moisturizer. (Both of which I have continued to do to this day.) Mrs. Ann was always so pretty....so kind....and such a blessing to me...I plan on telling her that face to face as soon as she can have visitors after this last round of chemo.

I hate the fact that I am obsessive/compulsive about locking doors, skin care and obituary reading but not about other things that are more important.....like keeping up with old friends, telling people how much they have meant and continue to mean to me....or better yet, what about making sure every person in my daily path knows Jesus. Now THERE is an obsession.

Unfortunately, my obsessive tendencies, while not curable...are manageable....so here's to upgrading the things I am obsessive/compulsive about!

Let's all strive to be OC for JC!!

Blessings Y'all!
~Scarlett