upworthy
Heroes

How a nontraditional funeral helped this mom process her daughter's tragic death.

Lucia Maya remembers getting a phone call from her 21-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. She was in agony.

A creative writing student at the University of Arizona, Elizabeth had been dealing with intense pain in her chest for weeks, along with swelling in her neck and face. The student health clinic told her it was probably bad allergies.

"She called me one day in tears because she was in a lot of pain," Lucia said. "She wasn't one to cry or complain. I said, 'OK, something is clearly wrong.'"

Elizabeth was rushed to the emergency room, where an X-ray revealed a tumor in her chest the size of a baseball. The diagnosis was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Lucia (right) and her daughter, Elizabeth. Photo by Jade Beall, used with permission.

Six rounds of chemotherapy initially beat the cancer back, but soon it had spread to Elizabeth's brain. Not even a year after first discovering the pain, Elizabeth was placed in hospice care. She'd spend her final days in her mother's home.

There was nothing more the doctors could do.

Lucia was suddenly in the strange and tragic position of having to plan a funeral for her daughter while she was still alive.

The first step for many people who are grieving is to make arrangements with a funeral home. But there's another option gaining popularity with many families: home funerals.

Joanne Cacciatore, a research professor at Arizona State University who studies traumatic death, wants people to remember that caring for our own dead used to be, well, just the way things were done. It was around the Victorian Era (the mid- to late 1800s) that both birth and death were institutionalized, or shopped out to experts who had special tools and training.

She said more and more people are now bucking that norm and skipping the mortician altogether.

Photo by Jade Beall, used with permission.

A home funeral often involves bypassing the usual embalming process, instead opting for more gentle methods of preserving the body: keeping it cool with dry ice and bathing it, for example. Some families will hold a viewing at home before sending the body off to be prepared for a traditional burial or cremated. Others, depending on local laws, bury their loved ones on family land instead of in a cemetery.

While home funerals are often much less expensive then traditional ceremonies, Cacciatore said this choice isn't usually about money. For many people, it's about healing.

"I think it has a therapeutic effect, in that when the person you love has died, and they're at home, you can check in with that reality as often as you need," she said. "You can go in that room, you can sit in that room 24 hours a day for three or four days, and you can watch their body, and see that they're not there."

For other people, they wouldn't dream of doing things any other way.

"Who better to take care of someone you love so much than you?" Cacciatore said.

After two months of being cared for by her mother, Elizabeth passed away on a Sunday in late 2012.

Elizabeth's body was kept at home for two days and covered in silks and fabrics. Photo by Lucia Maya, used with permission.

Elizabeth hadn't eaten for weeks. Her mother woke up at 4 a.m. the day she passed away, sensing the moment was about to arrive. Lucia held her daughter's hand as she took her last breath.

By this point, Lucia, her partner, Elizabeth's father, and even Elizabeth herself had decided a home funeral was right for them, though Elizabeth didn't like talking about it much. She was at peace with whatever was going to happen.

"What was so lovely was that we knew there was no rush to call the funeral home to come pick up her body," Lucia said. "We knew that we had time."

Lucia and her sister bathed Elizabeth. Anointed her body with oils. Laid her on a table with dry ice packed underneath. Wrapped her in beautiful silks and cloths, with rose petals sprinkled on top.

Photo by Lucia Maya, used with permission.

On Monday, family and friends came and went, saying their goodbyes in the place Elizabeth called home. A friend brought a cardboard box that would later be used to transport Elizabeth's body, and visitors decorated it and filled it with notes of love.

On Tuesday, Lucia and close family members placed Elizabeth in the box and drove her to the crematory. They watched as her body entered the cremation chamber. Lucia thought it might be too difficult to watch, but she said when the moment came, she was ready.

By then, she felt her daughter's body was nothing but an empty vessel.

"It felt so healing to be able to do those last things to take care of her," Lucia said.

"To be the one to bathe her, gently, to be the last one to dress her, to cover her with these beautiful silks that I know she would have loved — it would have felt very, very strange to send her body off and have some strangers doing those things for her, no matter how loving and caring they might have been."

She knows a home funeral isn't the right choice for everybody, but she shared her story because she wants people to at least know that it is a choice.

For Lucia, being able to make that choice means she gets to live without a single regret about how she spent her final days with her daughter.

Pets

Veterinarian lists 6 things pet owners do that 'give him the ick.' Pet parents, take note.

Though meant in good fun, these 'icks' contain some helpful pointers.

Photo credit: Canva

No pet owner wants to give their vet "the ick."

Ally McBeal first brought us the phrase “gives me the ick” back in 1999, and it’s had a resurgence in recent years, thanks to TikTok. While mostly reserved for describing annoyances in the dating world, the term can and has been used to describe virtually every red flag or pet peeve under the sun. Now, thanks to Dr. Frank Bozelka, we can enjoy a veterinarian version of “the icks.”

Just to be clear, the icks in question don’t come from the patients themselves…but the pet parents. While Dr. Bozelka is clearly just poking fun, he doesn’t shy away from highlighting some of the choices that pet parents make that cause some serious problems for their furry friends.

Ick #1 - Trusting a breeder's opinion over a vet’s

As Bozelka points out in his video caption, breeders “are not medical experts.” He added that while there are certainly knowledgeable breeders out there—even some who taught him breed specific tidbits—”most of the time you’re dealing with a backyard breeder who is literally just trying to dodge any responsibility.”

@dr.bozelkaervet

While there certainly are breeders that know their stuff, they are still not medical experts! Sure I’ve learned a few things from breeders about unique breeds I didn’t know, but it’s not very common. And the harsh reality of being a vet is that most of the time, you’re dealing with a backyard breeder that’s literally just trying to dodge any responsibility. So yes, our gut reaction when people say that is to cringe, sorry. I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT JUST BUY A BREED BECAUSE IT’S CUTE!!! DO! YOUR!! HOMEWORK!!! Make sure the breed is a good fit for your lifestyle, and make sure your lifestyle is a good fit for the breed! And for retractable leashes: I’ve seen far more injuries caused to dogs and humans from retractable leashes compared to other leashes. End of explanation. For number 6: stop complaining about the wait times. We know it’s frustrating. The dirty truth, however, is the vast majority of the time it’s NOT the fault of the hospital staff. It’s other owners and the cases we are seeing. #fyp #comedyvideo #satire #doglover #catlover #petlover #vetsoftiktok #drbozelka


Hence why his gut reaction when he hears someone refer to a breeder’s opinion as gospel is to “cringe.”

Even breeders agreed on this one. One wrote, “As a breeder I never give medical advice. I say: ‘please go see your vet.’ Maybe because I’m also a vet tech.”

Ick # 2 - Doing the opposite of what the vet says they would do

Next on the list: when someone asks, “If this were your dog what would you do?" then proceeds to do the opposite of what he’d do.

“Bro, why did you even ask me?” he says in the clip. Seriously, why ask if you're not even going to take the information to heart?

University Of Washington Dog GIF by Pac-12 NetworkGiphy

Ick # 3 - Not accommodating a dog that needs lots of activity

Some people desperately want, say, a husky dog because they're so beautiful and so smart. But breeds like that also have very high activity needs that require some pretty significant lifestyle changes. And yet, people complain when that same breed of dog is tearing up the house all the time because they're not giving them the physical activity outlets they require.

In other words, you can put a dog bred to race sleds through the snow into a 12' by 12' living room and expect them to just happily chill there.

Ick #4 - Buying a pet after doing zero research on the specific needs of the breed

Along the lines of the husky example, pet owners really need to understand the breed of animal they are getting.

“I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT JUST BUY A BREED BECAUSE IT’S CUTE! DO! YOUR! HOMEWORK!” Bozelka wrote in all caps.

Dog breeds in particular vary a lot and some have very specific needs that an owner may not be prepared to handle. Know what you're getting into before making a decade-plus long commitment to care for an animal.

@dr.bozelkaervet

True story… Legends has it that Hisoka aged another 2 years by the time she realized what was happening with him… Make sure to follow me on other platforms for when TikTok inevitably gets banned! YouTube: @Dr.BozelkaERvet1 Facebook and Instagram: @Dr.BozelkaERvet #fyp #comedyvideo #catlover #doglover #petlover #animallover #vetsoftiktok #drbozelka

Ick #5 - Complaining about wait times at the ER

No one wants to be made to wait when their animal needs to be seen, but there's only so much that is under the staff's control.

“We know it’s frustrating,” Bozelka writes, “The dirty truth, however, is the vast majority of the time it’s NOT the fault of the hospital staff. It’s the other owner and the cases we are seeing."

Ick #6 - Retractable leashes

Lastly, Dr. Bozelka listed retractable leashes as an ick, simply because they’re so dangerous. He’s seen “far more injuries caused” by them in comparison to other leashes, so better to be safe than sorry.

While not every vet might have the same icks as Bozelka, it’s easy to see how any one in his situation would be aggravated. Vets undergo years of education and training to help give our pets the best life possible. And when we make their job even harder, frustration is inevitable.

Dr. Bozelka has also shared things pet owners do that vets love:

@dr.bozelkaervet

Replying to @konagirl02 May not be mah best work, but it’s still important work! There are plenty of things pet owners can do to make us happy, and most of them are pretty simple! And TRUST me, for those of you that are understanding and considerate of the wait times, the vet staffs are literally singing your praises and blessing your family and friends behind close doors because of how amazing you are! Being polite and understanding about your wait is a sure fire way to get a staff to love you (at least from an ER standpoint). #fyp #comedyvideo #catlover #doglover #petlover #animallover #vetsoftiktok #drbozelka

According to the website KeepingItPawsome.com, there are a few other behaviors that vets find frustrating, including:

Overfeeding, trusting “Dr. Google” over their professional opinion, being verbally abusive or getting hysterical in the waiting room, not having pet insurance or an emergency fund, waiting too long before brining the pet in to get a check up, expecting free treatment or reduced fees, giving up on sick or old pets, trying medications or supplements without consulting them (again, Google can’t always be trusted), and last but not least—expecting a quick and easy fix.

Vets want what’s best for our fur babies. So these are good things to remember as pet parents, so that we may better help them help us.

This article originally appeared last year.


From Your Site Articles
pets
Joy

A writer shared how he alters song lyrics to make chores fun. Scores of people chimed in.

It's impossible NOT sing along to people's delightful alternative lyrics.

Photo credit: Canva

Good luck not singing this every time you do laundry now.

Music is such an ubiquitous part of our lives that we often don't notice how frequently it enters our consciousness. (All the more reason to support arts education and pay working musicians what they're worth, but that's a whole other article.) One perfect example of the big role music plays is how often we sing to ourselves, sometimes in the most delightful and hilarious ways.

Writer Jonathan Edward Durham shared that he sings "La-un-dry" to the tune of The Cranberries' "Zombie" every time he does the wash, and that admission launched a chorus of people sharing how they, too, sing to themselves with altered song lyrics to make chores or mundane life tasks more interesting or fun.

Try to read through these "silly little song" responses and NOT sing along.

"When I take my dogs outside, sometimes I sing 'Come on doggies, let's go potty' to the tune of 'Barbie Girl.'" – Lindsay

"I sing 'I've got to shower' to the tune of the 90s Snap song '(I've Got) the Power.'" – Tracy

"'Simply haaaving a wonderful breakfast time' to my dog as I get his breakfast ready." – Candice

"When making mojitos (or similar non-alcoholic lime-based beverages), I like to sing, 'Macerate good limes, come on.'" – Marion

squeezing limes, mojitos, drinks, making drinks, fun songs, singing Sung to the tune of "Celebrate."Photo credit: Canva

"As I drive past a delivery driver standing on the pavement, I sing 'Stand. By. Your vaaaaan…'" – Lara

"Coffee coffee, you're the one. You make morning somewhat fun. (Sung to rubber ducky tune.)" – Charell

"I sing 'Med-i-cate the dog' to the tune of 'Celebrate' twice a day when…medicating the dog. There are verses. It's a work of genius." – Anna

"Instead of 'Rock the Casbah' I sing 'Sift the Catbox.'" – Heather

"C is for coffee, that's good enough for me. Coffee coffee coffee starts with C." – Judy

"My laundry song is to the tune of All of Me…'Laaauuuundery, I'll laaauunder you…then I'll take you to the dryer, like a warm and cozy fire.'" – Ruthie

laundry, washer, dryer, fun songs, singingSung to the tune of "All of Me" by John Legend.Photo credit: Canva

"1) Every time I put on sweatpants, I sing 'Sweat-Pants' like David Bowie sings, 'Let's Dance.' 2) When my cat Jasper has climbed up somewhere I don't want him to be, I sing, 'Get down, get down, get down, get down, get down' from the end of KC and the Sunshine Band's 'Get Down Tonight.'" – Jen

There were more. People on Instagram chimed in with even more examples, and it's apparently something so may of us do it's nearly universal, but most of us do these things when we're alone, so who knew?

"When my kids were little and I was giving them baths, I would sing 'Everybody (yeah), Wash you body (yeah), Everybody, Wash your body right, Bath time's back alright!' to Backstreet Boys' 'Everybody.' My daughter thought I made up the song and was shocked when she heard the real version on the radio one day not too long ago."

"'Pruning my hydrangea' to the tune of Losing my Religion."

hydrangea, gardening, pruning, R.E.M., fun songs Sung to the tune of "Losing My Religion" by REM.Photo credit: Canva

"Every time I realize I have forgotten to drink water, I always (mostly in my head) sing 'Why’d you have to go and make me so de-hy-drated?' like Avril Lavigne’s 'Complicated.'"

"I sing 'I have to go pee-ee' to Queen’s I Want to Break Free."

"When I have to go to the bathroom but I have to wait until I finish doing whatever I'm doing or for someone to get out of the bathroom, I sing 'I'm about to pee my pants, up in here, up in HERE' like DMX."

"Anything that has the right syllables to the Muppets Manamana. 'Banana bread... doot do de do do.'"

"Every time I say 'Pasadena' I have to stop myself from singing, 'Passss A Den Yaaaa' like I'm in The Lion King. Often, I am not successful."

In all seriousness, though, making up song lyrics to make boring tasks more fun or simply to add a little humor to your day is a super solid coping mechanism. Life isn't easy. Finding ways to eke more joy out of life, even in small ways, can add up to big shifts in our well-being.

Humans are delightfully quirky, especially when no one's looking. We need to share these things more with one another so we know we're not alone in our silly little sing-songy habits.

From Your Site Articles
joy
Humor

A mortified server accidentally gave customer a $5750 bottle of wine. Her manager had her back.

A perfect response to a $5717 mistake.

Canva Photos, Hawksmoor Manchester

An unwitting server accidentally gave away a nearly $6000 bottle of wine

Ever screw up royally at work? There’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling that comes when you realize you have to fess up to your manager. Next comes the uncertainty over whether you’ll keep your job or not. If your mistake happens to be one that costs your company money, let alone a significant amount of it, the stress is unimaginable.

A server at the Hawksmoor Manchester steakhouse and cocktail bar in England went through that same experience. She accidentally served a customer a £4500 ($5750) bottle of Chateau le Pin Pomerol 2001 instead of the £260 ($33) Bordeaux they ordered.


wine, red wine, wine glass, vintage wine, fine wine, fine dining, funny restaurant storiesYou have to wonder if normal people can even tell if they're drinking a $6,000 bottle of wine Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash

The server didn't realize the mistake right away. It wasn't until later that a manager clocked the switch, leaving the poor waiter absolutely mortified. It's not every day that a server makes a $5700 mistake! The few that do rarely end up keeping their jobs.

However, the server’s manager decided to handle the situation with grace and humor, posting a lighthearted message on Twitter.

"To the customer who accidentally got given a bottle of Chateau le Pin Pomerol 2001, which is £4500 on our menu, last night - hope you enjoyed your evening! To the member of staff who accidentally gave it away, chin up! One-off mistakes happen and we love you anyway," they wrote.


The manager even went a step further and excused the mistake by saying the bottles “look pretty similar.”

The post went mega viral, racking up over 53,000 Likes on Twitter/X. Commenters praised management and ownership for letting the server off the hook for an honest mistake.

"As someone who works in hospitality, bless you for being understanding and not flying off the handle at the poor lad/lass."

"Now that’s a good employer! Mistakes do happen, sadly some employees aren’t as forgiving and only see the value of what was lost. I’m certain your understanding and forgiving manner towards the member of your staff will win you more customers!"

"This is such a great way to deal with a member of staff who has made a genuine mistake - great to read about it, well done to the management team & a lot of leaders could learn a thing or two from this story. Thanks for sharing the story."

Working in any kind of customer service, especially food service, is brutally difficult and under-appreciated. These kinds of employees absolutely deserve some grace, so it's heartwarming to see them finally get some.

Other users teased that if this was the kind of service they could expect from the restaurant, they'd be making a reservation ASAP.

"How can I book a table?" someone joked.


Hawksmoor founder Will Beckett later clarified the story to BBC News saying that the server had been working with a manager from another location because it was a busy night. The manager accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle and the customer apparently didn’t notice the mistake. (Sure they didn't.)

Beckett said the server is “brilliant,” but he’s still going to “tease her for this when she stops being so mortified.”


wine, white wine, red wine, fine dining, sommelier, expensive wineAll wine is good wine. Cheers!Giphy

Some users questioned the very nature of a nearly $6000 bottle of wine. To be fair, reviews of the vintage call it "perfection," "luxury," and a "thrilling experience." Still, it can be hard for people to wrap their minds around such extravagance.

"Is no-one else disgusted by the fact that a restaurant charges £4,500 for a bottle of wine in the first place? No wine is worth that much; it's pure & excessive extravagance for the sake of it & I find it vile," a user commented.

Beckett followed up in another post adding that, while the wine was expensive, the restaurant has raised over £1 million ($1.3 million) for the Wood Street Mission children's charity.

This article originally appeared six years ago.

From Your Site Articles
restaurants
Pop Culture

Man visits 'Titanic' museum, sees a piano. You know what happens next, and it's great.

Romantic bonus points: It was his honeymoon.

via Titanic Museum/Media Page

A vintage piano at the Titanic Museum.

Musician Edwin Rivera from Jacksonville, Florida, was celebrating his honeymoon with his wife and as part of the trip, they visited the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The museum showcases over 400 pieces of memorabilia from the Titanic and features a breathtaking recreation of the ship’s grand staircase. It also features a large replica of the doomed vessel striking an iceberg.

Rivera’s wife turned her camera on to catch his reaction as he walked into the music room and saw an 118-year-old piano. She thought he would just twinkle the keys a bit, but he went much further than that. "The video was initially supposed to be Edwin's raw reaction to touching the replica piano," Staci McClure, a friend of the couple who posted the video, told Newsweek. "When he pressed the keys and it was tuned, he spontaneously decided to play. And what else to play other than ‘The Portrait’ from Titanic?"

@jlubabe904

#edwinriverathepianoman #titanic #titanicmuseum #pigeonforge #honeymoon #piano #music #celinedion #fyp

The video is impressive because he plays the beautiful piece without sheet music. A crowd of strangers at the museum was also impressed with his playing, breaking into applause at the end. “I had to do it, I had to do it,” the pianist said, with a twinge of bashfulness in his voice as he left the bench. The couple gave the video to McClure because she has over 4,000 followers on TikTok, and they thought it might help the musician book a few gigs. “Little did we know that 48 hours later it would have nearly 8 million views,” McClure told Newsweek.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


The video impressed a lot of folks on TikTok in the comments. “Omg, can you imagine being surrounded by those artifacts and hearing that? They'd have to take me out on a stretcher for uncontrolled sobbing,” one wrote. “The fact he remembered that song from memory without the sheet music, is pretty damn cool,” another added.


titanic replica, the titanic, titanic movie, titanic attraction, titanic museum, icebergA replica of the Titanic hitting an iceberg in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.via Titanic Museum/Media Page

The post also brought out a couple of jokesters. “I would've laid across the piano and told him to draw me like one of his French girls,” someone joked. "Should’ve followed it up with under the sea,” another commenter added. In a follow-up video, Rivera did just that.

@jlubabe904

Replying to @Imnotyourbabydaddy666 #edwinriverathepianoman #titanic #titanicmuseum #pigeonforge #honeymoon #piano #music #thelittlemermaid #underthesea @Edwinjrivera.music

“The Portrait” was initially written by composer James Horner to score the scene where Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) sketches Rose (Kate Winslet) wearing The Heart of the Ocean necklace. However, in the final film, a piano demo called “Sketch” by Horner was used for the scene instead due to a mix-up over the word “sketch.” However, “The Portrait” would later appear in “Back to Titanic” and the 20th anniversary soundtrack.

@scorethepodcast

James Cameron, Oscar-winning Director of Titanic, says the music for the famous Jack and Rose sketching scene was something he accidentally placed in while editing, leading to one of the most iconic music moments in cinema history by the late Oscar-winning composer, James Horner. #titanic #leonardodicaprio #katewinslet #jamescameron #jameshorner #celinedion #film #filmhistory #filmscore #filmmusic #composer #myheartwillgoon

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Tennessee is an interactive exhibit that allows people to get close to genuine artifacts from the Titanic and get to know its passengers and crew members as well. Upon entering the attraction, everyone is given the name of a real passenger on the boat, and by the end of the tour, they know whether they lived or perished in the icy waters where it sank. It puts a real human face to a tragedy that has become such a big part of American maritime history.

titanic replica, the titanic, titanic movie, titanic attraction, titanic museum, titanic grand stairwell A replica of the Titanic's Grand Staircase.via Titanic Museum/Media Page

From Your Site Articles
titanic
Modern Families

Bride's mother-in-law shows up to her wedding in a bridal dress. Her response was a class act.

Not many of us could be so kind.

@amypennza/X

This is many a bride's worst nightmare.

While there are certainly plenty of wonderful mothers-in-law out there, there's a reason the stereotypical image of a controlling, jealous, overbearing MIL exists. Sometimes difficult MIL relationships simply stem from misunderstandings and a lack of open conversation. Others delve into more shadowy aspects, like unspoken fears of being replaced or abandoned. Either way, these insecurities manifest themselves in various ways, both passive aggressive and, well, aggressive aggressive.

For romance author Amy Pennza, her wild MIL story, which took place at her wedding, no less, seems to fall into its own bizarre category entirely. Sure, this is not the first time we've heard of an MIL upstaging the bride, but this is kind of next-level. Apparently, Pennza's mother-in-law committed one of the most common wedding sins of all: she showed up on the big day in white dress looking straight from David's Bridal.

It has to be seen to be believed, and luckily, Pennza posted receipts:


All of Twitter ground to a halt as people awaited the deets.


It amassed thousands of retweets as Pennza's adoring public speculated about how this tale could have ended.



After a bit more begging, Pennza finally returned to Twitter to bless us all with the full story — and it's kind of surprising. Here it is, slightly condensed:

So, a couple people have asked for the story behind The Dress. Sorry for the delay! I have four kids (yes, I married him) on summer break, so my permanent state of being is "frazzled." I called my daughter "mom" the other day. I didn't know what my mother-in-law planned to wear. I didn't think to ask.

The morning of the wedding, all the women in the bridal party cram into a tiny room in the church. You know, body glitter and hairspray everywhere. Fifteen coats of mascara. Putting napkins under your pits so you don't sweat on your dress. She walks in. I see it.don't remember much about the day. Most people say their wedding is a blur, and that's true for me, too. But I know I said this: 'You... You could be the bride..."'

Later, my sister (matron of honor) said she didn't pull me aside and talk about it because she hoped I was too distracted to notice. My college roommate (bridesmaid) said the same thing. But secretly, they both spent the reception looking at me, then each other, then MIL, then me, then the cop the venue made us hire—hoping I didn't go for his taser. I'm happy to report the wedding unfolded without bloodshed, or anyone being shoved into the champagne fountain.

Then the story goes on and you realize Pennza might be the most understanding person alive:

Here's the thing: My mother-in-law is extremely frugal. And I don't mean she just enjoys a good bargain. To understand her, you have to know where she comes from. She grew up in extreme poverty. As a child, she used to sneak into the kitchen and eat match heads. That's a pica craving, and kids do it when they're malnourished.When you grow up with nothing, it stays with you. Forever, I think. No matter how much money you earn, there's always that little fear in the back of your mind that someone might take it all away.

But her upbringing didn't make her hard. Or cruel. Or selfish. However, she's a bargain hunter to the bone. Her money saving strategies are legend—and often hilarious. At family gatherings, we amuse ourselves telling stories of crazy shit she's done to save money...So when she spotted The Dress at an incredible bargain, she couldn't turn it down. If you ask her now, she says she feels terrible about it. Although, she also told me, 'I think I've still got it. We should raffle it off.'


She's frugal. But she's also incredibly generous. When my twins were newborns, she drove across town every night, slept on the sofa, and did three feedings. For two babies. Every night for months.She regularly shows up at my house with bags of new clothes for the kids. (Because she's a kick ass bargain hunter.) When I got my first job, she hemmed all my work pants because I can't sew for shit. And because she was proud of me. She never misses a band concert, sports event, talent show, science fair...you name it. She'd walk over hot coals for her grandchildren. She gives them everything. Because, you know, she grew up with nothing.

So, yeah, the wedding dress was a shock. But it gave me a pretty funny memory. No one who attended has ever forgotten it. And, you have to admit, weddings can be forgettable. Sure, she wore a wedding dress to my wedding. But she has more than made up for it since. When I told her about this getting a lot of attention, and said I worried it might hurt her feelings, she waved it off. 'Whatever makes me famous.'"


So Pennza's MIL bought the dress because it was a bargain, and Pennza accepted that. Very nice of her, as many of us might have wondered whether there were any, I don't know, non-bridal dresses on sale somewhere in the world. But sure, okay. Lots of feelings were felt. Pretty much everyone agreed Pennza is a champ for seeing things this way.

But also just FYI: if this happens to you, it's okay to be furious.

From Your Site Articles
best of humanity
Trending Stories