Thought For Thursday - Death

Again there was another death in the family. Mom and I went to Owosso on Tuesday to attend the memorial of her nephew. I didn't know him that well.

As we were sitting in the church waiting for the memorial to start I was watching as people kept filing in the door. All the seats were taken, and there were people lined up standing in the back. I was thinking that my cousin sure did know a lot of people in his short 48 years.

I wondered how many people would attend my funeral. And then I remembered I wasn't going to have one. If I don't have time for my own funeral, I figured why would anyone else have the time. Mom had mentioned earlier in the day that she would like to have her funeral ahead of time so she could see who would attend. Oh, ...and she figured if she had it on a Saturday no one would have an excuse not to be there.

I looked around at the people who took time out of their day to say farewell. They would pay their respects, and then go their separate ways. Life would go on.

Death is all too common in this day and age. It seems to be everywhere. It is encoded in our genetic makeup; it's caused from environmental damage and diseases. Rarely does death happen from natural causes anymore. All too often we find it right around the corner or just next door.

The world may be a small place, but it's getting smaller with every passing funeral. As our lives intersect in such ways we become connected in grief.

But in spite of death's ever enclosing circle of creeping tentacles, the world keeps spinning and life continues on as if death was a short hiccup.

Yes, life continues on...

Monday Memories - Bridal Shower (1956)

Mom at her bridal shower

Monday Memories (1956)

Dad

Mom

Monday Memories (1958)

Me and my older brother

Looking at this photo it dawned on me why I enjoy walking so much. It appears I never got very far on four wheels.

Growing Pains

My sister and her husband were in town over the weekend. I had the chance of meeting up with them along with two of my brothers.

My sister and I got into a conversation concerning our parents. After learning directly from her that she lives in denial as to Mom and Dad's age the conversation ended when she said "I don't feel comfortable talking about this". I can understand completely how she feels.

I try not to think of the day when reality will strike home. But, it will. And no matter how we might try to avoid the thought of losing our parents it is all a part of growing up, growing older.

So, why am I mentioning this? I really don't know. Growing older is painful.

1963: My three brothers and I.
My sister had not been born yet.

What Resolutions?

This is the time many people make resolutions for the new year. I've been giving this concept a lot of thought over the last few days, and I've come to the realization that making resolutions at the beginning of the year is not something I do.

It probably is a good idea to start the year with all sorts of plans. It gives a person something to strive for in a given period of time. I have note tablets, little pieces of paper and mental notes that I keep of things I want to do or learn. Some of the things are uncompleted still after eight years. Other ideas or motivations have overshadowed them.

So, maybe I should think of what I want to accomplish in 2012...

1. Wake up every day

My son contemplating his resolutions

Pipe Dreams...

It's a wonderful feeling to get excited about learning something new, or learning more about something you may already be familiar. For example, the idea of enrolling in a class at John C Campbell school in North Carolina was brought up in conversation when Melissa, Mary and Edie were recently at the Nestle Inn. 

The question, "if you had a choice of taking any class you wanted, would it be something you've always wanted to learn, or something at which you would like to better your skills?" was asked and mulled over. It really isn't an easy question. You might think that learning a new craft would be the best answer. But, then again what about becoming more knowledgeable in a craft you already know something about? Whatever the answer, learning is a wonderful thing.

My son sent me photos of some of the custom smoking pipes he creates. He does it as a hobby at this point in his life.