I am now going to make the most profound statement of my life: Funerals suck.
We lost a dear friend last Friday, and the weekend was filled with sadness, funeral preparations, casseroles, ham, visitation, story telling, the funeral, the burial with full military honors. Through all this you feel like you're walking on eggshells. You watch people's hearts break right before your eyes. You sit there in shock as someone you love and respect is blessed and buried.
Then, like all good Southerners, you go to the family's house to eat.
But then, something very good happened. People went in the pool. Kids started swimming and splashing. Music was playing. Cold beer was drunk. And all of a sudden, smiles reappeared. We all realized we were doing exactly what Gary would have wanted us to do. We were celebrating. We were celebrating a wonderful life and a wonderful man. We were celebrating that we were all there together. For those few hours we were all together and lifting up the other.
And for some reason, every good celebration must have a Belly Flop Contest.
Hugs were everywhere.
And grandkids posed with their best style.
Old friends reunited.
Newlyweds carried on.
Some people even showed off.
And some people went ALL out to bring joy to the masses.
Sure, there were plenty of moments of intense sorrow---
But for this one afternoon, they passed quickly,
And the celebration was back.
With love to the Wombwell Family. xxx
3 comments:
Just being together -- that is healing.
Oh, Judi...I love it! Thank you for the post, but more importantly for being such a wonderful friend throughout all of this. There are no words to describe how much I appreciate all that you've done & no doubt, continue to do. It's still so hard. It's been a week, yet it seems just plain wrong to move on without my Pa. They say time heals. I just don't know how much time. I love you, Judi!
So sorry for your loss, Ju. This was a beautiful tribute.
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