This is a photo of the flowers that my darling nieces and nephews chose for their father's casket. Everything they did to honor their father was so appropriate and graceful. C gave a beautiful talk and sang beautifully with his other brothers. c sang with all the cousins and sounded lovely too. My nieces and nephews (the children of the deceased) all spoke and one niece sang. How did they do that? They were so brave. I learned a lot this week. 1. It is so important for adult children to make arrangements to honor a beloved parent and even younger children can benefit a lot from feeling included. 2. There are some things in life, maybe many things that don't have a "do over" button. Do those things right and have no regrets. 3. People grieve in different ways. 4. We never know how long we have. Make sure the people you love know you love them. 5. When you speak with a person, you never know if it's going to be for the very last time.
We spoke with C's brother on a Sunday, the following Tuesday he was in a coma from which he never regained consciousness. Thursday he was gone. I'm so glad that conversation on Sunday will always be a pleasant memory.
Thank you so much for all your kind words. So many people told us that they would remember us in their prayers and that has given us a peace nothing else can. I hope you'll forgive me for sharing just those few thoughts... It will help me move on to happier subjects from now on. Wrap your arms around those you love.. and may they all be well.
8 comments:
I am thinking about you! I am so glad the funeral went well and will be a pleasant memory for you all. Hope to see you Saturday, I think I am going to make it too.
So true and beautifully put.
Thank you.
Try as we might to be wise and to live with gratitude, there are some things that we only learn when we are touched by painful circumstance. Out of the pain comes a sweetness of knowing how precious the gift of life is, and the knowledge that our Creator is in charge of how long we have.
I lost my Dad when I was 26, and my Mom the following year. Everything in my life since then has been new and sacred.
You and your family are in my thoughts & prayers during this time. I lost my dad in 2006 and that experience taught me so much about life and what's important and what's not. May God wrap his loving arms around you & your family during this time.
Jennifer
I'm so happy for you that your final conversation on Sunday was a good one. Regret is an awful thing to live with and it sounds as if you have special memories to bring you through the hard times. I'm still praying for you because I know things aren't *all better* yet.
Thanks for sharing these important truths
Tiffany,
I am so very sorry. I send you and your family my deepest heartfelt thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for everything you said in this post. You're absolutely correct. With some things there aren’t any do overs. Sadly I have a few regrets with my 17 year old daughter's funeral. I also argued with her the night before she died. I do so wish I could do it over.
We can all learn from the example your nieces and nephews set in honor of their father. Thank you for sharing.
We can always us these reminders. You have my sympathies.
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