Today I went to a funeral. It was so sad. Sad because the person that was being mourned had taken his own life and left behind his 2 young grief stricken daughters, one of the two being the fiancée of my nephew. This young lady and her sister, both in their early twenties, had the awful task of making all the funeral arrangements for their dad. Their mother was not present - she is divorced and would not have anything to do with the funeral arrangements for her ex. I did not know the deceased, but from the growd gathered at the funeral, I found out that he had been well liked, a "bon vivant" (and from the pictures of him at the funeral parlor, he was also quite the looker). He had been struggling with depression - and I guess this time depression won the battle. Keith & I went to give moral support to my nephew and his fiancée - not that we could do anything, but I have come to realise that at times like this, just seeing someone you didn't expect can be a boost to the moral.
When my mom died, I was especially moved by the fact that my mom-in-law travelled over 8 hours alone to come to the funeral, just to be by my side and give me moral support- and for that, I will always be grateful to her. All she had to do really was to be there, but her presence was important to me during that time of grief. That was a well learned lesson. I used to shy away from funerals - avoid them at all costs, but then, my mom passed away and I was so grateful to have all these people show up and pay their respects and give us a hug - I finally understood that funerals are not for the dead, but for those who are left behind. Since then, when someone close to me is grieving, I want to be there to give them a hug, and let them know that I care.
No comments:
Post a Comment