So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye

Last week, I had the misfortune of attending the funeral of my last remaining grandparent. Funerals are never easy, and this one sucked as much as I expected. It really got me thinking about death, funerals and obituaries. I think the digital age is the death knell of funerals and obituaries as we know them.

Obviously, I knew of my grandma's death and flew to Milwaukee to be with my family. But during the wake I marveled at the number of people who said something to the effect of, "I read of your grandma's death in the obituaries..."

Obituaries. Something I haven't thought of in ages. Something I never had read regularly, and certainly not at all since I started getting my news online. Something I honestly don't see myself delving into again.

It's pretty obvious that newspapers are dying and most of the content lives online. But online obituaries are hidden. They're not on most publications' home pages or even available as a tab to click. You actually have to perform a search to find obituaries. To me, that signals the end. It now seems impossible to sustain any type of business without a strong internet presence and ease of use. We're no longer patient enough to jump through hoops to get to our content.

I currently don't read the obituaries in any form. Hearing so many people at my grandma's wake speak of the concept really made me question future attendance at funerals once we lose the paper-reading generations. I realized I never would know my friends' or colleagues' loved ones had passed unless it were posted on social media.

There is something so special and heartwarming about others showing up to pay sympathy. For three full hours, the line at my grandma's wake was out the door. In 90 degree heat. I know the support meant a ton to my dad and his brother and sister. I saw people I hadn't spoken to in decades and I couldn't believe they stood in line for up to an hour (especially in the heat) just to pay their respects to people they hadn't seen in years.

That practice may be lost on younger generations. If we don't post the loss on social media and we've shunned traditional media like newspapers, how will we know to offer support? Will funeral homes and churches see fewer and fewer people for funerals because we're uninformed?

I really don't know the answer and welcome your feedback. Let me know how you see it, by leaving a message in the comments section. Will family and friends find some other way to learn of loved ones' losses? Will attendance at wakes and funerals dwindle and eventually make them obsolete? Will attendance somehow remain steady? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

Good Things in Small Packages

Ahhhh, hotel stays. The fluffy beds, college-sized fridges and most importantly, the free toiletries. Of all the things to get excited about during a hotel stay, I like the toiletry selection more than just about anything else. Although the offerings tend to be merely average in most cases, I always hold out hope for the swanky toiletry stash. It can make me as giddy as having two snacks drop out of a vending machine when I only paid for one.

I'm constantly compelled to swipe those teeny treats because I paid for them in the price of the room, you know? Some say room prices could drop if hotels didn't provide so many toiletries, but that's not for me to decide. I'm just working the current problem as I see it. (Remember that episode of Friends where Ross crammed his suitcase full of every "free" item he could get his hands on in his hotel room?)

How much free stuff is too much? Typically, I'd immediately say you can never have too much. If it's offered to you, grab it! But recently I've been re-examining my thinking. I was doing some spring cleaning and found dozens of unused mini items I'd accrued at hotels over the past few years. Check out the photo. Do you know how much space these products take up underneath my bathroom sink?! Some of the products weren't even good anymore. So why the heck did I keep them, and more importantly, why the heck do I continue to grab the free goodies everywhere I go? Am I a hoarder??

No, I'm definitely not a hoarder. I think mostly I like the adrenaline rush of seemingly getting something for FREE. That, and the ability to try out a new product I may be unfamiliar with. But I can't figure out why I even bother taking some of these products if they smell gross to me and I know I'll never use them. I cannot think of a single instance when I have used one of the sewing or shoe shine kits offered in hotels. Still, I take them. Every day the toiletries are replenished and every day I swipe more. I. Can't. Stop.

I've recently purged my growing stash of mini toiletries. The photo above shows about one-third fewer tiny bottles than I had two months ago. I threw out the really old ones that couldn't be used. I'm doing a much better job now of using the ones I really like, particularly at the gym or the pool. Any that I know right away I won't use in the next six months, I am giving to the women's shelter down the street.

I think my new system will work to keep my bathroom uncluttered and to ensure the mini products don't go to waste. Sure, I could stop swiping every sewing kit or shower cap or makeup removing cloth I come across. But let's be honest. This girl likes free stuff too much and she's going to continue doing a silly little happy dance every time she grabs a fistful of mini goodies and shoves them into her suitcase.