Today was a perfect example
I went to my cousin's funeral.
Wonderful person.
She has been a teacher for the past 35 years, specializing in special needs kids and gifted students. The grades she worked in was middle school, the toughest time as the hormones kick in.
Great mom. Her daughter spoke for about a 1/2 hour, passionately.
Great friend. There were hundreds of people in the funeral home, many of whom thought that she was their best friend.
Great teacher. There were many of her students, from many years, there.
She has been fighting cancer for 25 years. Operations, chemo, etc. She kept beating it down, it kept coming back. She has been suffering various levels of agony the whole time, both physically and emotionally.
She knew she was going to die soon, so she went to interview the funeral director and set him straight. No extreme compliments, no "heroic" bullshit.
She had a very strong sense of reponsibility. One of her final arguments with her daughter was worthy of an Ann Landers letter. She was swamped with letters, cards, gifts, etc. She believed every single one of them deserved a written thank you note in return. Her daughter just wanted her to relax a bit. She tried to convince her mom that dying people did not have to spend their final energy writing thank you notes.
Sandy will be missed by many.
(fixed a typo. Sandy would not have like it)
