A funeral and.....LIFE

Yesterday, the family and I along with two of Mechanic Man's sisters and a nephew all piled in the Expedition and drove to East Texas for a funeral. Mechanic Man's uncle had died on Thurs. He had been struggling with health problems for a few years and it finally overcame him and he passed away. We were not extremely close to him, but knew him well and was still devastated to hear of his passing.

While I was sitting there in the beautiful historic funeral home for the service in this small little town I couldn't help, but think of....LIFE. What do we do with the dash that shows up on our headstone? What legacy do we leave for our loved ones and how will we be remembered? Most importantly what did we do for the life after this life passes away. I have seen what seems like a lot of death after the passing of my mom or maybe it just becomes so much more real for me as I look at the grieving family and I can relate to them. I know the pain of losing someone so close and how hard it is for the months to come. I pray for the family as they are going through this process of trying to go on without their loved one. But still LIFE does go on....the world keeps turning. It doesn't stop because you are grieving, I know all too well. What we do here on this earth, is who we are. Funerals become so much more to me now, as it resembles who that person was and a celebration of their LIFE.

Another thing that I thought about was the fact of how different every service was that I have attended, and how it usually has a lot to do with the personality of the person who passed. It also has a lot to do with the family that is left behind and what they want to do that will help them grieve. The unique thing about this funeral was that it was simple, like I said it was in this small little town and that is what he was, simple. He didn't like a lot of frills and things and it was a great celebration of his life, which is what a funeral should be. Amongst the grieving there is celebration, more so if you know that the loved one is in heaven. There was no grave side ceremony and they had the folding of the flag for him at the service because he had been in the military and that was a moving moment for me to watch them presenting the flag to one of his daughters. The greatest and most emotional for me was at the conclusion of the service. The preacher said that the family wanted two of his favorite songs played at the end. Then all of the sudden you hear this tune and it is "King of the Road", you know it the one that says, "Trailer for sale or rent......" I couldn't help, but cry and laugh at the same time because that was so fitting for him. And I watched as his ex-wife, 3 daughters and grandchildren who were all sitting on the front rows just started belting it out along with the song. It was a moment I will never forget. Then the song ended and the next one was "Mr. Bo-Jangles". And the family again began to sing at the top of their lungs in sort of a tribute to him and how much they loved him. What a celebration that was!!!