This week has got to have been hard on Betty Ford

[ronnykmarshall]

She really seems to be having a hard time today.

[AlCzervik]

1. indeed, i saw the 21 gun salute and then her receive and kiss the flag

she brought me to tears.

[WI_DEM]

2. Yes, the glare and spotlight and trying to maintain your composure

and dignity. Four funeral services and all the pomp and pageantry.

[ronnykmarshall]

5. I know, huh?

It seems like Betty tried hard to stay composed until the end. Same thing happened with Nancy Reagan at the end of Ronnie's funeral.

[glarius]

24. Excuse me for making a joke here but it must seem like groundhog day to her!

I mean Groundhog Day the movie...Sorry....I couldn't help myself. I do have sympathy for her though. She looked really drained today.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. No kidding...

as nice as the tributes must be, I still can't believe a family would choose to put themselves through this much public attention at the height of their grief.

Mercifully, they didn't have the cameras aimed on them while they said their final goodbyes.

Sadly, the next few days will probably be the hardest for Betty. Now she'll have a chance to let it sink in. I wish her the best.

[tbyg52]

17. If the deceased is a former President

you don't really have a choice. I thought the whole family was wonderful, and I felt so sorry for them.

[MonkeyFunk]

19. Well

they do have a choice, of course. Presidents plan their own funerals. If he'd wanted it, he could've had a simple ceremony in Michigan and that would've been it.

I'm not objecting to the ceremonies given to Ford - I think any President should be afforded such honors at their death. It's not like we have a whole lot of Presidents: these occasions are pretty rare. I just don't understand WHY families would put themselves through it. But then, once you've been in the White House, I guess ceremony becomes pretty standard.

[tbyg52]

25. You're right--

it's the *President* who doesn't really have any choice. Can you imagine the first President to have a small family funeral, or none at all? *I'd* be fine with that, but I bet it would cause a lot of chatter and raised eyebrows if it ever happened. Probably wind up with a whole bunch of people hanging around with cameras anyway. Which is one of the reasons I hope I'm never a public figure (fat chance).

[leftofthedial]

4. I wish her well

it is always difficult, but at that age, losing a spouse can be overwhelming.

[k_jerome]

6. your heartful bastard. nt.

[ronnykmarshall]

I know, I know.

But that's what us Hillary Enablers do.

[Virginia Dare]

7. She has fulfilled her last duty as "First Lady"...

and she did it well. Yes, it must have been utterly exhausting for her. It was a grueling full week of mourning, and that's a lot, too much really.

[ronnykmarshall]

10. You're right,

I never really thought of that.

She has done it well.

I hope now she and the family can have some real peace and quality time together.

[onecent]

8. Bless her soul. She was way beyond her tiime. I was 30 years

old when she was first lady...She WAS a lady...in every sense of the word.

[MichiganVote]

9. Goodbye to a spouse of fifty some years...that's some kind of empty

[madrchsod]

11. that is a lot of years to be together

i`d say they are a couple that one could look up to. through all the trials and tribulations they still stayed in love and married they raised their kids to become good people. one can disparage his presidency but as a father and a husband he passed the test.

someday we will all be there....

[brook]

12. We were talking about this at work today.

How exhausting this must have been for her. She and her children did their husband and father proud throughout it all. Dignified and genuine. One look at their faces and you see the pain of their loss. It choked me up a couple of times as it reminded me of my own parents' deaths.

[Frustratedlady]

13. I was so impressed by Betty and by the children and family.

To lose a loved one and then have to go through all the pomp and circumstance they have endured for the week, has to be a burden...even though I know they are touched by the people who came out to say goodbye to President Ford.

They had a beautiful life together and produced a wonderful family. Betty knew what she had to do and she struggled through to the end. I hope they can take a few days to look back on this final farewell before they begin the difficult duty of thanking those who did so much for them this week. The services were beautiful and they should be proud. It was a wonderful farewell to a fine man.

[GreenTea]

14. Get Real! It's no different than anyone losing their spouse of many years...She's no different.

[MonkeyFunk]

15. Are you serious?

He said it's been hard for Betty this week. It's hard for ANY spouse to lose a partner after so many years.

What a way to crap up an otherwise very nice thread.

[MichiganVote]

20. Monkey this little green tea leaf is posting argumentative statements all over the board

looking for a spite fight.

[Raine]

16. Not every spouse

has to be on camera while they are grieving, having a little heart!

[MichiganVote]

18. Oh look! It's you! My, my, you just scoot all over the place. So is Betty Ford a pig now too?

[Raine]

21. The search function

is a wonderful thing, isn't it. :thumbsup:

[MichiganVote]

22. :) Its a very good thing indeed.

[DemBones DemBones]

23. MOST people who lose their long-time spouse don't have to

put themselves through multiple funerals. I don't think widows of presidents should feel they owe the public that much.

[ronnykmarshall]

26. Wow !

Right on time.

Sunrise, sunset.

We can always depend on you.

Pat yourself on the back, Sweetie.

[nini]

27. doesnt' mean it doesn't hurt the same

:eyes:

[MiniMe]

29. Most people don't have to go through the pomp and circumstance of a

State Funeral that drags out for a week. My god, they were married almost 60 years, another mark that most don't make.

[mondo joe]

31. And why begrudge ANYONE in that situation some SYMPATHY?

For fuck's sake.

[MonkeyFunk]

35. because

no small portion of people here believe you can't be a good liberal unless you're a hateful little shit.

[cynatnite]

28. She is an incredible woman who dealt with her loss with dignity

She's one of the few first ladies who has ever had my complete respect. She changed the way alcoholism and drug addiction is handled in this country. She helped take away the stigma of breast cancer by dealing with it out in the open. She is pro-choice and never held back her opinions.

Good thoughts go to her and her family in this difficult time.

[tnlefty]

30. I admire Mrs. Ford much more than I do Mrs. Reagan, and I thought

this same thing about these elderly grieving women and their offspring: this weeklong flying back and forth and the services really is too much, IMHO.

When I did witness one of Ford's sons tearing up yesterday morning, all that I could remember was how it was for me and my kids when my father died 2 yrs. ago, and it wasn't a weeklong, state funeral. These people are in pain, and the emotional stress makes the physical stress of visitation, etc., at a local funeral home tremendous. I can't imagine this weeklong traveling here and there.

I don't know how any of them hold up to be honest, but I do honestly believe that this is too much for these elderly women.

Just my .02.

[Raine]

32. Funerals are a terribly rough thing to get thru

my mother died around the same time of year as Ford (just after Christmas) 8 years ago.:cry: It was one of the most difficult things in my life to get thru and then looking out for my father who had been with my mother for over 50 years. The whole thing was a nightmare and we didn't have to go thru it with cameras recording our every tear either. Now my father's health is failing so as I see the Ford children see what I'll will face again soon. :-(

[ronnykmarshall]

33. That's so sad.

I'm so sorry.

I think about people like you and the Fords that lose people around the holidays. It really changes it doesn't it?

I'm sorry you're facing it again.

[Raine]

34. THANKS nt