Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead . . . pass it on.

Submitted by The Frumious Bandersnatch.

I'm feeling extra frumious today.

My cell phone rings at the office at 8 am sharp Friday morning.

It's my mom calling to say, "Hi, your great- uncle died last night."
First off he was not just a great uncle - he was my grandfather's twin brother. Which me being a twin myself, I've always had a special place in my heart for him.

Now lets put the sadness aside for a second for the reason for my post.

I tearfully asked my mother why she felt that 8 am at the office was a good place to tell me this. And her reply?

"This is a good thing. He had so many health problems and now he can be with his wife in heaven and not living in pain. There's no need to be sad."

I asked why she didn't wait to tell me later in the day. And her reply?

"I wanted you to have all day to deal with this and not hear about it in the evening."

My thoughts are she could have told me at lunch so I could cry while I eat - always a great thing to try to juggle tissues and food, or until the work day was almost over, then I could sit in the car until I got a hold of myself and drove to get my kids from daycare. I understand that her first thought was to spare me having to deal with this in front of the kids, or heaven forbid I drive while upset.

But seriously, 8 am on Friday?

It seems a rather rude question, but how do you pass along bad news? Is there a better time of day? A better method? There has got to be a better way to share sad information.