BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Exposed 14
WHAT WOULD YOU HOPE WOULD BE SAID IN YOUR EULOGY?
Given that there won't be a eulogy, it doesn't matter, I'll focus on my obituary. I would hope that, though not long, my obituary would be funny, current, accurate and kind - reflective of who I am as a person. I'd hate for it to be sad, focused solely on my past, and inaccurate. I've had a lot of time to think on it since Bill passed and his obituary was so awful: inaccurate, lazy, and disrespectful. It’s been close to two years, and it still makes me angry to think about it. (I fixed it last year for the first anniversary of his death.)
Years ago, for a class I was taking at UofT, the instructor required us to write our obituary - a brilliant ploy to get to know all of his students! This is what I wrote:
OBITUARY – Jennifer “Lee” Currie
A woman of contradiction, some of her own making and some of circumstance, Lee was nothing if not resilient. She often said her superpower was “turning shit into sunshine” and she did. From high school valedictorian to university drop-out, she became a lifelong learner, she was a voracious reader, bookshelves in every room of her house are testament. She earned certification in life coaching, real estate, oracle cards, sound reiki and astrology after a challenging and fulfilling 25+ year career in the grocery industry. She was finally focusing on her first love: stories, when she dropped dead at her computer while writing her first assignment, her obituary.
Lee’s greatest achievement was single-handedly raising her four brilliant children, the lights of her life, they brought her unequalled joy. She wanted to be a better mother than her own and was known to say that she had “set that bar too low”. Considered by many to be a fiercely independent rebel, parenting suited her ability to love, to nurture and to fix any challenge thrown her way.
It may come as a surprise to many that Lee was an introvert burdened with a big personality that equalled her physical presence. Her laugh was usually the first thing you noticed about her, heard before she entered any room. Lee always looked for the best in everyone and everything and found great humour in the human condition when she wasn’t heartbroken over it.
A lover of order, Lee had a list for everything: gridded journals filled with to-do’s, random quotes, exotic travel plans, blogging ideas, shopping lists and morning pages. She leaves behind her journals, calendars, overflowing bookshelves and scrapbooks. Oh, the scrapbooks. Prolific.
In lieu of flowers or donations, please raise a glass of cheap rink wine, preferably Sauvignon Blanc, in Lee’s honour.
I think it hits all of the highlights of my life so far (except from the dropping dead writing an assignment). No need to mention education, hobbies, relatives, or anything else. If I do manage to write my novel, perhaps a quick mention, but other than that, I think this is more than adequate. No need to bore anyone with more than 350 words. A life lived well doesn’t have to take up too much space.
(That said, and believed, I was clearly compensating when I wrote Bill’s!)