Friday marked the 6th, maybe 7th wake I have attended in the last 7-8 months; not good. This time it was a co-worker’s husband; earlier in the week it was a co-worker’s father-in-law. There’s one place that will never go out of business; owning a funeral home seems like a recession proof proposition. There’s always people dying, and as you get older, more and more people that you know; another one of the shitty things about getting older…
It all started with my cousin’s husband who was found dead in his bed; imagine coming home to that? They had been married for a long time. As with each of these wakes, the best part about it, if there is one, is the fact that you’re seeing family and friends that you haven’t seen in a long time. They always used to say that when I was growing up; you know, weddings and funerals… I’d much rather go to a wedding though. He had to be in his 60s; still way too young. I want to live forever actually, but I will take 90 years on this earth, as long as I can still wipe my ass and all. This cousin is my father’s niece; all my cousins on my dad’s side are older than my siblings and I, which makes sense since my dad is the youngest of 5, with the oldest, when he was alive, old enough to be his father. This kickoff to “Wake Fest” was held at the Lincoln National Cemetery for Veterans; seeing one of those ceremonies never gets old, but ain’t that great when it’s YOUR family they’re commemorating… anyways… RIP Ed.
I believe the next up was my godfather/uncle on my mom’s side; he was married to my aunt, who had long passed. I already talked about him in length. After that was one of my mom’s only remaining cousins… then there was 3. After that, was that cousin’s husband; I guess they didn’t have to spend that much time without each other, at least that’s what I’d like to believe. Actually, I DO believe it… it’s the ultimate test of faith. What happens after you die? I don’t really like to think about it that much, but when you go to as many wakes as I have in the recent months, it’s hard to avoid. I asked my 2nd cousin about his dad that just passed, and what he thought of the after life. His mom, my mom’s cousin who had just passed, was very religious. She believed 100%. What he told me about his dad was quite different. He said, he had a more realistic view, as we lifted the casket out of the back of the hearse. He said when you die, that’s it… it’s over… there’s nothing else. I thought, man, that’s a rough view to have… I wonder how many people think that way… I hope he’s wrong and that indeed, husband and wife have been reunited after these 2 back to back deaths. RIP Bill and Rene…
It’s getting closer to home… my parents will both celebrate their 75th birthdays over the next year; I’m very blessed to still have both of them around. I want them to be around for a long time; I’ll never be ready for that day… it’s one of the things that I immediately think about whenever I go to a wake… But out of my mind, now I say… we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Until then, although I love seeing my family and friends, and I never mind representing at any of these services, I’d be OK if I didn’t have to attend another wake for a good long time. I will say this though: it does impact you, at least for me it does. Life is short; things can change in an instance. Enjoy it, and don’t ever take for granted when you’re rolling out of bed at whatever time you do, feeling the aches and pains, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, dreading going to work… consider the alternative… any day above ground is a good day.
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