Tuesday, March 18, 2008

A Good Day for a Funeral


Today my Dad and I attended a funeral of a friend of he and my mom. The wife of the man who passed away was one of my mom's best friends. So lots of my mom's friends that she used to meet with every Friday for their "coffee talks" were there. Many of them, I hadn't seen since the memorial service we had for Mom, nearly 3 years ago.

It was a rainy day. Cats and dogs rainy. And it seemed fitting for a funeral. When the pastor was saying something really big and important, there was a loud clap of thunder at just the right moment. Maybe it was the man, Fred, giving a little shout out to his family.

The man's son got up to talk about some great memories of his dad. It was very personal, and very emotional, and it was obvious he had trouble getting through it. And I could so feel his heart in those moments even though I don't know him at all. And as I was listening to his family story, I couldn't help but see the parallels in my own. He spoke of how lucky he felt that he and his brothers never had to worry about "if mom and dad would be there", because they always were. His parents were married for 51 years. And mine certainly would have been, had my mom lived longer. And I too, feel so lucky that my sister, my brother and I came from this solid foundation of good people that loved each other.

This day was about Fred and his family. But it's impossible not to also think of my mom on a day like today. And I am so glad for that impossibility~

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