Dear Boo and Bubble,
Captain and I went to a lawyer a couple of months ago to
update all of our important documents – Wills, healthcare Powers of Attorney,
End of Life Healthcare Directives – all sorts of fun stuff that, after a good
sum of money later, produces a book about five inches thick that covers
everything from a hangnail and brain tumor to silver flatware and bed
linens. It’s an essential exercise, but
one that’s difficult to execute because of the concentration it takes on the
inevitability of dying.
It’s also very hard to talk about with your children. In fact, your mom can’t do it without getting
so emotional that she cries. Because of
that, we try to avoid the conversation with her as much as possible.
Great Granddaddy Schaefer found this to be a real problem in
his practice of law. People hired him to
prepare their Last Wills and Testaments and, after spending his valuable time
making sure all of their “wills and testaments” were indeed the “last” and
reflected their desires, he set up a meeting to go over everything.
In his explanation of the documents, he would say “Now, if
you die tomorrow, this is what in reality and practicality will happen
according to your Will.”
As he proceeded through his discourse, he noticed that his
clients became distant and some even agitated.
At the end of the appointment, some very politely excused themselves
after the meeting and told him they would get back to him – never to be seen
again.
Granddaddy pondered this phenomenon and decided he needed to
take a different approach. The next time
he sat with clients to go over their Wills he used a new phraseology.
“Now, if you HAD DIED yesterday, this is what in reality and
practicality would have happened according to your Will.”
He realized that his clients were so relieved they had made
it through yesterday and were still alive, they could relax and focus on the
un-enjoyable task at hand.
So, boys, if ever you see your mom upset and you think it
might have something to do with her concern over Meemaw and Captain’s end of
life, just look her in the eye and say –
“Don’t worry, mom, they made it!”
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