We made our journey to say goodbye to a wonderful lady and a member of our family. These emotional journeys, combined with actual travel, quickly take a toll on us. I think the hardest thing to see is your granddaughter in tears. You just want to absorb the pain for them. There are few words one can say, all you can do is hold them. Ann and Bill were married for 54 years and it is so hard to see him standing there, looking lost, with so much sorrow in his face. And there are the children, all grown themselves, with their children. So difficult to say goodbye, I know, I had to do that with my own Dad. The wife and I laid a yellow rose atop the casket, I'm told they were her favorites, and whispered a prayer. Rest easy, Ann.
While we were there with one son dealing with the loss of his mother -in -law, my other son was being sworn in as the Mayor of Greensboro, Md. Definitely a contrast in emotions. Sorrow and joy, the ups and downs, but ever forward in time. That is something we often overlook, the advancing of time. Then, all at once we stop and look behind us to say, where has it gone? Was there something more that should have been said or done? Did I miss anything? These are the thoughts that travel through my mind after someone passes. Opportunity either overlooked, or missed entirely. Each day is a chance, each day we can do something more. How can we know? We can't, but the feeling persists, at least for a while, gradually it will dissipate as we absorb the reality of death.
I've made it back home safe and sound. I remind myself to not take that for granted. The reminders are alongside the highway if you pay attention to them. I can't say how many crosses I saw on the side of the highway. They are somber reminders of what could be. But, I've survived another journey and am grateful to be home. As I drove into town I couldn't help but think, my son is the Mayor of this town. Yes, I am taking pride in that and maybe even a little credit for it. Hey, what's the point in having children if you can't celebrate their accomplishments? I tell myself that I influenced his course, yeah the wife helped too, but I taught him the value of home. I'm thinking that seed may have been planted during my Navy days. There were months at a time when I was deployed. Months when I wanted to be home, but had a duty. Has that somehow been transferred to Kevin, the Mayor, feeling a responsibility to home? Perhaps it is his duty? Duty isn't always a pleasant thing but a necessary one. The town of Greensboro is in good hands this day, I'm confident of that. Kevin will move the town forward.
Yes this morning is full of mixed emotions. The proverbial sea is calming once again, the storm subsiding. It is time to move forward. It's all any of us can do, just keep moving forward, ever forward in time. Yesterday is relegated to memory, a place to visit. Today is a place to go, I haven't been there yet. It's a new day, a new start. My son is the Mayor, imagine that? You just never know what the day will bring.
While we were there with one son dealing with the loss of his mother -in -law, my other son was being sworn in as the Mayor of Greensboro, Md. Definitely a contrast in emotions. Sorrow and joy, the ups and downs, but ever forward in time. That is something we often overlook, the advancing of time. Then, all at once we stop and look behind us to say, where has it gone? Was there something more that should have been said or done? Did I miss anything? These are the thoughts that travel through my mind after someone passes. Opportunity either overlooked, or missed entirely. Each day is a chance, each day we can do something more. How can we know? We can't, but the feeling persists, at least for a while, gradually it will dissipate as we absorb the reality of death.
I've made it back home safe and sound. I remind myself to not take that for granted. The reminders are alongside the highway if you pay attention to them. I can't say how many crosses I saw on the side of the highway. They are somber reminders of what could be. But, I've survived another journey and am grateful to be home. As I drove into town I couldn't help but think, my son is the Mayor of this town. Yes, I am taking pride in that and maybe even a little credit for it. Hey, what's the point in having children if you can't celebrate their accomplishments? I tell myself that I influenced his course, yeah the wife helped too, but I taught him the value of home. I'm thinking that seed may have been planted during my Navy days. There were months at a time when I was deployed. Months when I wanted to be home, but had a duty. Has that somehow been transferred to Kevin, the Mayor, feeling a responsibility to home? Perhaps it is his duty? Duty isn't always a pleasant thing but a necessary one. The town of Greensboro is in good hands this day, I'm confident of that. Kevin will move the town forward.
Yes this morning is full of mixed emotions. The proverbial sea is calming once again, the storm subsiding. It is time to move forward. It's all any of us can do, just keep moving forward, ever forward in time. Yesterday is relegated to memory, a place to visit. Today is a place to go, I haven't been there yet. It's a new day, a new start. My son is the Mayor, imagine that? You just never know what the day will bring.
No comments:
Post a Comment