Random Acts of Shifeness - HBD, MF

  • HBD MF = Happy birthday, Ms. Frizzle.
    Our yellow dog turns 3 today and we love her so much. She is getting a fancy new collar and she gets to spend the afternoon at the lake doing two of her favorite things: playing fetch and swimming. 


  • Her new collar is fancy because we got it personalized with her name and our phone numbers. Below is an example of what it's going to look like and please visualize it saying Ms. Frizzle instead of Evan. Is it me or does Evan seem like an odd name for a dog? We were able to do 4 lines of text so the last line says "Don't Stop Retrievin'". Kyle wanted to put "I Love Balls" and Hayden wanted it to say "I Labradore You" but we went with "Retrievn'" 

  • I had a tough day at the office today. We worked on a photo and video shoot for an upcoming marketing campaign featuring the Boise State mascot, Buster. But I still made time for all of my blogging friends so you're welcome for my service.

  • Kyle and Hayden start school on Monday. Crazy, huh? Summer isn't officially over according to the calendar but it is for the Shifleys. It was a good one as we made some good memories.
  • Now onto a more difficult subject. I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about this but I am hoping that my super-smart blogging buddies can give some insight that has eluded me. I had to attend a funeral earlier this week. A college friend's 7-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident. As you can imagine, it was horrible on so many levels. I knew the funeral experience was going to be tough but I wasn't quite prepared. The family decided to have an open-casket but the casket was at the entrance of the church so it was right there when you walked in. In my opinion, her little body wasn't in any condition to be viewed by the public. It was quite traumatizing to see something like that. The family is Catholic but as far as I can tell an open-casket isn't a funeral tradition. Was it for closure? I am not judging but I am trying to understand. Maybe you can help me out. 
  • Thanks for stopping by and I will talk to you later.


I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 


Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. - F. Scott Fitzgerald





Comments

  1. I wonder if the accident was caused by a
    drunk driver and the open casket that all
    had to see was their statement about that?
    Funny funeral story. When my mother passed
    away last summer my wonderful brother was
    handling it all. We had a remembrance by
    the Rouge River, an outdoor luncheon and
    then brother and relatives brought up
    good memories. It was supposed to end with
    brother tossing the container of ashes into
    the river. He decided not to as the river
    was full of tourists rafting by and he
    didn't want to haunt their dreams of their
    river trip or sink anyone!
    xoxoxoxx to all and happiest of birthdays
    to Ms. F.

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  2. I am stumped by the open casket question. What a sad thing, to have to bury a young child. The family will never be the same again. Maybe they just could not bear to have the casket closed until the last moment. Oh, I feel for those parents.

    Ms. Frizzle is three? Those years sure flew by . . . It's so good that you and your family made lots of good memories during the school break. That's the way to do it.

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  3. I'm an old lady, Mr. Shifley, and in my younger days, perhaps all funerals were open casket because all the dead people were old and that's what we expected. In my early 20's my cousin was killed by a drunk driver and his parents went closed casket because Bob "just couldn't be viewed!" Then a young man I knew was killed in a tragic accident, and though the reconstruction did not look like Brian, his parents said all his friends wanted to say Good-bye, and Brian was surrounded by farewell gifts. I know I slipped in a package of Oreo Double Stuffs; I knew he needed them.
    So why did the parents of a seven year old put her at the door? Only her parents can tell you, and you will never ask. If they wanted to make a statement, they certainly did. If the funeral director advised them to do so, I think he made a mistake. Seven years old is first or second grade. I do hope not too many of her classmates attended.

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  4. Open caskets are not favoured here, even for Catholics. Viewing can be done in private before the service.

    Happy birthday to Ms Frizzle. Don't the years fly by!

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  5. I don't quite understand why the casket was by the door ~ I think Joanne has the best theory on it. In my humble opinion, I believe that viewing should be up to the individual. I will never view an open casket, because I will always want to remember that person as I knew them, not as a corpse (sorry if that's too graphic). Regardless, there are few things in life more tragic than the death of a child.

    I hope the new school year starts off great!

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  6. The last bit of your post reminded me of the one and only time I had an open casket experience. Back in high school, a buddy of mine fell off a cliff while on a camping trip. He bumped along the side of the cliff before landing far down in a river. His body wasn't meant for viewing either, in my opinion. The casket was far from the entrance, fortunately, so one had to really make the effort to see him. I did not. I know his family were religious, but can't say if their religion dictated such a scenario. Yours sounded like a jarring experience.

    HB to your yellow dog! 'Don't stop retrievn' is very funny. :D

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  7. I got new knowledge about your funeral story....thank you for sharing.

    have a wonderful new school year for your kids

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  8. I'm not really sure if there's a rhyme or reason for the open casket. I've been to several where it was open and to several where it was closed where in either case, the body was (as far as I know) suitable for viewing. My aunt was killed in an accident that necessitated cremation, rather than burial.
    The service you attended may have had a reason, but I'm not sure why it would be at the door.

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  9. I'm sorry I'm so behind! Happy BD to MF, she looks like a grown young woman.

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