Of Gatherings, and Grief, and Gratitude...

This past week Dad and I spent time traveling to the Midwest to say good-bye to a favored aunt...

 

We gathered together, family and friends, to honor a woman who has touched each of us deeply.  Her sweet spirit, contagious smile and generous love have poured freely from a life well-lived.  She will be so missed.  But I can't help but think how she would have found great joy in how her memorial transpired!

 

No stuffy funeral homes, nor elegant cathedrals... her husband and children planned a memorial perfectly fitting her life. 

 

We gathered on the banks of the Wabash River in the quaint, tiny town of her ancestors.  And there under a wide wash of blue sky and towering pine trees, we shared our memories...

 

Things she had taught us... stories of mishaps and laughter... remembrances of her battles... even of regrets... but more, jewels of resilience in her crowning achievement, a family raised up to love and cherish each other. 

 

Her son and daughter both spoke... there were tears and laughter, grieving and healing.  And then her 6 grandsons gathered round and read from her favorite bedtime story.  A story she read to them often, complete with sound effects and theatrics...

 

 

There were roses to lay on her grave and silence for a moment... Then a spring breeze whispered thru the pine trees and the boys began an impromptu game of chase, joy dancing in the air...

 

Aunt Emily would have loved it. 

 

Dad and I were so very grateful to be a part of this family gathering.  We celebrate her life, but mourn so deeply her passing.  It soothed the ache to be with each other.  Isn't that so often how it happens?  Grief and Gratitude, tied together inexplicably somehow.

 

We spent several days with the family exploring this charming town of cobblestone paths...

 

 

historic log cabins...

 

 

 

quaint cottages...

 

 

and peaceful parks...

 

 

 

 

 

We gathered for wild games of Wiffle Ball...

 

 

And hopped on Dad's rented golf cart for more adventures...

 

 

Like getting lost in the giant hedge maze...

 

 

And skipping stones across the sweeping Wabash...

 

 

 

Yes, Aunt Emily would have approved.

 

Dad and I were so very blessed to be a part...