On losing your son

I don't quite know why I feel the need to blog about this, except that it was something that touched me very deeply.  On July 1st, a very prominent family from this little town grieved the loss of their only son, who died suddenly. The family owns the local funeral home that has been in the family for 125 years, which they are planning to celebrate later this year. What touched me was how the community came out to celebrate this young man's life. The viewing was not private, as one might think it could have been. But instead they welcomed the entire community to share with them the life that was their son's. There was a 1/2 to an hour wait to see and talk with the family, and the funeral was standing room only. And what a tribute they paid to him! Death is never an easy thing to deal with. But for those, like this family, who deal with it every day, I was given a new perspective on what it means to celebrate a life. Yes, I know they are grieving and will for quite some time, but it was wonderful to see, what they instinctively know, that this is all about the person's life and not their death.