And The People Gathered

A friend of the family's husband was ill with cancer and, when his health started to decline, people started to gather, including the friend's sibling and aunt.

The aunt has a touch of dementia and when she visited my aunt Alice recently, she didn't say anything until it was time to leave and then she said We're the last ones, Alice and, indeed, they are. She is the third of four children as is my aunt Alice and neither one of them have any siblings left.

I left work early to rendezvous with my mother. Saw this woman in a truck looking at us and she finally stopped and asked if we were going to the funeral. She couldn't find the street and so she followed us. That's how small the "village" is that I come from. 

The first memory of the family friend that popped into my head was of her at my grandmother's funeral telling how my grandmother used to walk her and my youngest aunt, Debbie, to school. 

I saw my  childhood friend Pookie and when Debbie saw my friend, she tried to remember her real name and Pookie said something like "Why change it after all these years?" I looked around at the crowd and saw Debbie's school friends which I found quite endearing.

The funeral was sad and it wasn't. Everyone talked about what positive energy the deceased had. One of his friends gave such a touching tribute and almost slayed me when he started singing The Twelfth of Never.  

The friend of the family got up last and said the word she kept thinking of was grateful -- she was grateful for the time that she had with her husband and grateful for all the people who've supported her in the last six months...

Went to yoga and there were only about seven people in a class that usually has about 27. I told Joy that it was perfect weather for nesting -- drinking warm beverages and reading. Joy said And, yet, you came to yoga. And I did. I'd done on about 10 minutes while I was tucked away over the weekend so, yeah, I was jonesing for an hour-long yoga practice.