Rochester, NY
11:58 PM
You don’t know why things happen like they do, but things happen. When you are young and people your age die, it has an affect on you. As I write that, I guess death has an affect on you no matter what your age is.
As I was at the funeral home tonight, I heard what a lot of people said at my Nana’s funeral. “It’s good to see you. I wish it wasn’t for this.” I saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in years. My sister saw a lot of people she hadn’t seen. In your life you only come in contact with a certain amount of people. You keep in contact with some and you don’t with others. There is not any rhyme or reason as to why some fall into one category and others into the other. It just happens. I can’t say that I like it very much, the drifting. But it happens. As we get older, we see people we don’t see at weddings and funerals.
I hate funeral homes. When I was there tonight, it took me back to my times in the death houses. My friend Aaron’s picture. The people. My friends. The crying. My Auntie and Uncle Jack. Nana. But there I was, back in there. I saw the pictures again. This time I didn’t know the pictures that well. It didn’t matter to me though. I stopped and stared at the pictures that were put up on the poster boards. There were weddings and proms and family functions. They were all happy times.
And that is what I think these times should be about. When someone dies, it should not be about how they died and the sadness that is there. It should be about the pictures, about the experiences and memories you had with that person.
Life is short. We are on earth for a minimal amount of time. Some of us are allowed to be here longer than others. As I write this, I am sad. I am sad for the hurt that happens when we lose people close to us. The pain is there and it should be. It means you cared for them. It means you miss them.
I am not really sure what the point of my ramble is. I went tonight and it affected me. Thoughts are with the friends and family. Grief is hard and will be there. But remember the good times and remember that it is OK to be sad. Keep the memories flowing. It is hard, but that is the way they would want it: They want to be remembered as in the pictures.