Tomorrow Abi will be attending the second funeral of her lifetime. Abi's great-great-aunt Ann passed away this week. I don't imagine Abi will remember her, which is unfortunate because my great-aunt was a wonderful woman. I don't have many memories, because we've lived most of our lives far from that side of the family, but the memories I do have are of a kind, warm, compassionate woman. I am sure her passing will be mourned by many whose lives she has touched. I realized yesterday, while reading the obituary, that Ann is not a blood relative. I never thought of it that way; she is simply family in my mind. I suppose that's because, being a great-aunt, she has always been a part of my life, of my family. That's the wonderful thing about family (blood or otherwise) - loving, supportive people who are always there. (Which isn't to say all blood-relatives / family are loving and supportive, but the people I think of as family are.)
Abi's first funeral marked the passing of her great-great-great grandmother last year. I truly hope there are no more passings for a long time. I would hope Abi has more time to develop relationships with her extended family, because there are a lot of wonderful people to meet.
It is at times like these that I am reminded how precious family is and I realize that we don't create enough opportunities to interact with our families. Abi inspired a sweet little phone call earlier this week as she brought me the phone and insisted on speaking with Pa. I asked her which Pa she wanted, F or B, and she replied B. So we called Grandpa, Abi said hello and Pa and bye. We briefly caught Grandpa up on life here, but most importantly I'm sure Abi brightened his day by calling. She in turn was happy to hear his voice, although it does always confuse her to hear a voice on the phone. (Usually when she plays phone there is no one on the other end.)
We should do that more often.
And, dear family and friends, we're not the only ones who can pick up a phone or send an e-mail or leave a comment. ;)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Lovely post. Eric has also attended 2 funerals in his lifetime. Hopefully neither one needs to attend anymore funerals for a long time. I love that Abi wanted to call her Pa. What a wonderful moment that must have been for him! Hope you're all doing well!
Post a Comment