Passing Clouds

I debated about writing this post. I'm still debating in fact. It somehow seems taboo to write about death. Again. But someone once said, "Death is part of life." And that truth really resonates with me. We cannot live without someday dying. And we all experience the loss of loved ones in our lives.

We were at a memorial for a lost loved one this past Saturday. Yes, another. Between the 2 of our families, Tom and I have lost 8 relatives in the last 3 years. Some to old age, some to disease, some to accidents. It seems like a lot.

Even though this loved one died the first week of September, I still haven't really grieved for him. We've been so busy. I need to grieve, and I feel it tiptoeing around the back of my mind.

He died of old age after a long and full life. He was a member of Tom's family and I first met him when Tom and I had been dating only a few months. He welcomed me into the fold of the family immediately, without hesitation. He made me feel welcome and loved as one of his own. He was a profound thinker, and he wrote:

Passing Clouds

Humans living here on earth are like passing clouds---
Here, there, and gone.
All we can do is show love and caring for one another,
And give thanks, to each other, for
Having had the chance to experience
The joys and sorrows of life while passing through.

As a passing cloud may leave rain,
Refreshing the earth,
So each person has the chance to leave the world
With some small measure of a brighter outlook

For those to follow.

I am a better person for having known him. The sparkle in my own children's eyes will remind me of him often.