I'm not a big fan of funerals.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. Yes.

When my mother died at age 82, it was sudden, but not entirely unexpected. When my husband got home from work that evening he said, "You kids need to be together. I'm taking you over to your sisters and I'm going to go get your brother and bring him over." Which he did.

Now, it's important to know that my husband (now my ex, which has nothing to do with this story) is Jewish. My family is 100% Irish (all four grandparents came from Ireland) as is my sister's husband. Well, when my brother joined us we stood around very glum, understandably so. Mom had just died. My sister's husband poured us beer or wine or something. And soon we were giddily telling all sorts of stories about Mom, and laughing hysterically. My poor husband didn't know what to make of us. His is a completely different tradition regarding the recently deceased. Luckily my brother-in-law understood and said, "It's okay. This is the way of their tribe."

When I die I want a traditional Irish wake with lots of booze, and I've got that in my will and I've made sure that plenty of people know.