Thursday.

It's Thursday.

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The heat wave finally broke Tuesday night, via a pretty spectacular lightning storm that we caught on film (with lightning bolts touching down every few seconds- sort of scary from our 29th floor). Unfortunately, I can't get the videos off of my camera for some reason. Oh bother.

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I laughed so hard on the phone last night with mom that I almost cried. She called to confess that she had (temporarily) lost my Grandma- her ashes, that is. Grandma White died just a few months before our wedding in 2005, & her ashes have been sitting in our mudroom closet ever since. Apparently they were misplaced a while ago, & after much searching were finally found amongst the cleaning supplies in another closet. Maybe it's only funny to Hudsons, & disturbing to others, but I just thought it was hilarious. To be fair, my mom thought it was pretty funny, too- at least after she found her mother. At the end of the day, ashes are only ashes, no matter what they used to be. This being said, we are a family of cremators which is apparently quite strange within LDS culture (I didn't know this until an institute teacher in college told me that those who are cremated are not able to be resurrected- um, I think I'd prefer to not try to limit the power of God). I called my fountain of knowledge (my dad) & was quickly set straight. But really- It's a family tradition so to speak- Grandpa Hudson was scattered across some beautiful boulders in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California when I was a freshman in high school. It was a great experience for our family to say see you later this way, & the best "funeral" I've ever been to. Grandpa White was supposed to be scattered over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Monica, but the wind blew most of them back into the plane, & the rest likely landed on the beach. We're still trying to figure out what to do with Grandma White, obviously, but she's happily (no doubt) sitting in the car in the garage until my mom takes her up to the lake this weekend, where she will be scattered this summer. And Grandma Hudson- I'm sure we'll all sit around together this summer, drinking juice & eating small cookies while telling nice stories about her. She'd approve. Oh- & I think Katie's ashes are somewhere too, right? We should scatter them off the dock, mixed in with a tennis ball (but then wait a while to go swimming). I don't mean to be morbid- I'm just being honest.

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It might not be traditional, but have I mentioned I don't want to be buried? I don't. I don't like the concept. The idea of visiting a grave doesn't give me comfort. I don't like messes, & I'd prefer not to leave one. Like my obviously delusional institute teacher, I've heard many members of the church say that cremation is wrong. Wrong? I couldn't disagree more. It's a personal choice, & one that has worked well for my family. The end.

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On an entirely different topic... I didn't sleep well last night thanks to a massive headache. All night long, in & out of consciousness, I was dreaming of Shade shirts in all different varieties- thanks to my post yesterday followed by a thorough discussion at book club on the subject. For what must have been hours throughout the night, I was shopping & trying on different styles & fabrics & colors in all sorts of different stores. No wonder I'm tired today. Shopping is exhausting.