A little off topic of my renovation journey....
My uncle John's public memorial is today. Our family traveled to Florida a few weeks ago to gather to celebrate his life privately. It was everything I would want my life celebration to be, filled with love, laughs, tears and the people who held him the most dear. It is impossible to watch my aunt and his four daughters go through the pain and suffering of losing him. I once asked my mom if she missed her parents. She said, "yes, I think you miss your parents forever". I am afraid that she is right. My uncle was one of those people that you always wanted to be around. He was funny, loving, smart, made you feel like you were the most important person in the world. He listened intensely. I never felt that he was just waiting for me to stop speaking so he could say something. He loved his family fiercely and I am grateful that I was lucky enough to be part of that love.
When you start having kids people are constantly telling you to cherish every moment because it all goes by so fast. As my oldest just turned 5, I completely agree. I feel like I just had him. His tiny hands and feet have been replaced by "kid" feet and hands. He was just an infant and now he is a boy. It was fast and I know that it will only go by faster. I realize that my time as a child must have flown by for my parents. I can now appreciate how it must feel for my parents to see me with my 3 children. I wonder if they think, "but she was just an infant, how can she have her own infant".
As I reflect on my time with my uncle, I do not understand how his life went by so fast. I think about his mom holding him as an infant and how he must have grown so fast in her eyes. My time with my parents generation has been so special to me, but I always assumed they would always be around. There is something so sad that this bubble has been broken.
So yes, lady at the supermarket, I will cherish every moment with my kids, but also with my parents, uncles and aunts. It all goes by so fast.
I think about this more and more. How I spent much of my "youth" thinking that getting married and having children would be THE time of my life...but now I know that those experiences are only parts of my life...and they go by very quickly. Enjoying all of life's stages and savoring time with beloved family and great friends are the best we can do. It sounds like your uncle was a wonderful person!
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