I whined a little bit on Facebook that I'd drawn a blank on blog topics. A friend advised me to give it up and go out and have an experience. Well, I had one. I went to the funeral for a friend's husband. He died suddenly, unexpectedly, and harshly while they were vacationing for the weekend at their summer home. This kind of grief is so big that it's hard to breathe.
When did life shift so drastically? When did I stop going to weddings every month to now, when I seem to be attending funerals on a regular basis?
Today was brutal. Over 300 people formed lines as long as those in Disney World to greet the family and say a prayer for their husband, father, friend. Young children sobbed through the service because their Pop-pop wasn't going to play baseball with them anymore. Joyce, his wife and my elementary school friend of fifty-five years, stood with her grieving children for more than two hours greeting the mourners. I sat with my friends, so sad that we weren't celebrating a girls' weekend at this, our most recent gathering. Paul was a great guy, full of life! We met a year ago, but he knew me through Joyce and he treated me like a long-time friend.
Paul was a registered organ donor. We were given green rubber bracelets with the phrase Donate Life in English and Spanish. I have marked my license to indicate my willingness to donate any part of my body anybody could ever want after I'm gone. Hopefully, I expect to use it all up before I leave this Earth. Honestly, who knows if I will? I urge you to consider being an organ donor. None of us know when our time will end, but it would be a comfort to our loved ones if we could live on not only in their hearts and memories, but in the actual living body of someone once in need. There's tons of information on the internet to get you started.
The following quote reminded me of Paul, a man who both lived and loved life. He will be missed.
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."
