Long Weekend

Normally I like the sound of that... a long weekend. This one hasn’t been a bad one. It would have been nice to be off an extra day without the death in the family. But hey, who am I to blow against the wind?

The one thing about funerals is that you get to see family members that you haven’t seen in a while. Weddings, birthdays, whatever else happens, not everyone shows up. Have a funeral; pretty much the whole family comes. Ours does at least.

I sat in the funeral parlor and watched the remaining members of our family for a while. Two things struck me; first, our family has shrunk dramatically and second, I have sat in that very same room for so many funerals that I can’t even count the times now. Over the span of 30-plus years that I can remember we have had so many family members travel through that very same room.

It just doesn’t seem like that long ago when our family was pretty big. I am now down to three Aunts and two Uncles. No Grandmothers or Grandfathers, no Dad, not so many blood relatives left. There was a time when a funeral service for our family in that same room was too much for the place. It would be standing room only and even then they had to open the large room adjacent to it to fit everyone in. Now we don’t even fill the one side of the main room.

Our family gatherings were huge too. We used to rent the Fire Hall meeting room for birthdays. When my favorite Aunt would host her annual 4th of July gathering, the place was jammed all day long. It was great. This past 4th of July, we all fit into her dining room.

I am feeling the effect of mortal souls, as an old friend of mine used to like to say.

Sitting in that room, going to the cemetery and to the reception after was harder this time. Mostly because I know I’ll be there again. I still have some dear ones that will eventually end up there. They are all older now and planning their trips through that room. I’m even responsible for my Aunt & Uncle’s estate when their time comes. That’s a weird thing to talk to someone about. It’s like planning an end to an era. That will really suck!

Hold onto your loved ones today. This long weekend has refreshed in my mind how limited our time together really is. It has also refreshed in my mind the truth about how things change so much and not always for the better. Hold onto them and give them a hug for me too. :)