dad post #1: the couch
so i have lots of things to say about the past couple of weeks. i’m going to start with the couch.
at most funeral services i’ve attended that take place in the funeral home itself there is a couch. this couch is usually the center of the front row or the entire front row. there is no better seat than this couch for viewing “the body” either during a visitation or for the service itself. for the service, this couch is reserved for the most tragic people at the funeral. the spouse, the parents, the children, and depending on space available, brothers and sisters, and spouses of children etc, etc. in the case of my father, the couch was for my mother, my grandmother, and me. ryan sat in the chair next to me, and the rest of the row was filled out with my father’s brother, sister, and her husband. i’ve never had to sit on the couch before. in fact, i’ve never rated a front-row seat before. the “closest” i’ve rated has been the second row for funerals of grandparents.
this also puts the couch-sitters “on display” during the funeral for especially choice moments in the eulogy, etc. i do not believe that *everyone* who attended could see my mother and my reaction when my uncle mentioned that my father died 6 months before becoming a grandfather for the first time, but enough of them could, but i’m certain the wave of grief and angst made it to the back of the room.
i did not realize that i was going to have to sit on the couch until the moment was almost upon me.
i do not like the couch.
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