Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~
At the end of this past week, someone special to me and to my family left this earth for a better place. My “uncle” Bill made this world a happier place. He had a big, kind heart and an incredible sense of humor. As kids, we even loved it when he would pick on us since you knew he loved you like crazy. The word uncle is in parenthesis b/c he was not my uncle by blood. My mother and her best girl friend from high school, Nancy, remained close for all of their lives. Thus, my mom’s best friend and her husband became my sister and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bill. Their kids became our cousins and we have many wonderful memories of times spent together.
We each deal with grief in our own way and my uncle’s passing has certainly brought back a flood of memories, especially from my childhood. I also think that when we leave this life, each person passes on their own sort of mantra or lesson for the rest of us. I believe my uncle’s mantra would be to ‘Celebrate Living and Celebrate our Families.’ He definitely did both with quite a passion. I’m so grateful to have had him in my life.
His passing was rather unexpected and so that also leaves the rest of us to pause and consider the value of each moment that we have together.
As we grieve the loss of those we love, may we also take time to celebrate them and to help spread their lesson.
Peace,
~ Cindi
