Of death, funerals, and the summer to come...

Amazing what changes in a week...

Last Wednesday, May 14th, at 6:30 am I found out my grandfather had passed away. My Abuelo who had Alzheimer's and was bed-ridden for 3 years. By 1:52 pm that same day, I was on a plane with N, her Bunny, and a DVD player.

Death is never easy for anyone. But this was a good death if there ever was one. His three children were there, all my sisters and brothers came, it was a beautifully simple service. There was closure for many of us. N distracted and brought joy to my mother, who was more affected than she admitted.

Funerals in Puerto Rico are a curious thing. You end up seeing everybody you mean to see when you visit but never have time to. It is a congregation of old people. Old people like to go to funerals. They see family they haven't seen in a while. They talk about their medical conditions with uninterested parties while in the same room with a dead body. They gossip. (You find out so many things!). They complain how cold it is in the room. And in the middle of all this, you realize this is the cycle of life: birth, procreation, grandchildren, old age, death. You become accustomed to the dead body in the same room with you, you accept it. You are sad, but you know he had a good complete life. It just becomes a body, a shell, and you quickly realize how empty of life a dead body feels. Funerals give you closure: you finally see the body go into the earth, say your final farewells, and close the chapter.

The sadness lingers, but it is a sadness of loss. I could tell you funny stories about my Abuelo. I could go on and on about the dead. But I belong to the world of the living and as such must celebrate life. That is my goal this summer. To celebrate life with A and N because when you are dead you can't enjoy the sun and feel the breeze in your hair...

Goodbye Abuelo! Have a good trip!