Steve's extended family was in town this past weekend to attend the memorial service for his 27 year old cousin, Chris, who died unexpectedly in California on December 26th. I was unable to attend the service because I was scheduled to work, so Steve can give further detail if he wishes. Any death is difficult to cope with, but when it happens to someone with so much more life to live, it is truly a tragedy.
While I had never met Chris, I still wanted to attend the service to support Steve and his family - especially his uncle Gerry. I also wanted to reconnect with his other aunts,uncles, and cousins who I haven't seen in awhile and connect with those that I hadn't met yet. I was especially disappointed because I wasn't going to be able to meet Steve's Aunt Shirley as she was visiting from Texas. She doesn't make the trip up here very often - nor have we had the opportunity to go down there.
Yesterday afternoon, one of my co-workers informed me that I had a couple visitors. I'm easily surprised, but rarely shocked and speechless. When I went to the front desk, Gerry and Shirley were waiting for me. I was absolutely overwhelmed with a range of emotions - initial shock of seeing them, joy of finally meeting Shirley, and grief of the loss of Gerry's son. I was a blubbering mess of tears but wanted to freeze that moment. Shirley and her daughter Bethany were leaving shortly to return to Texas, so our time together was limited. Shirley hugged me good-bye for the umpteenth time and we told each other that we didn't know when we were going to be able to hug each other again, but that we loved one another.
The death of a loved one always put things into perspective. You realize how precious life is. You realize how short life is. You realize how much your family means to you. You realize that there are so many things you should have said, should have done, etc. Most of all, I don't want to live a life of regrets - I should have spent more time with my family, I should have said I love you more often, I should have appreciated them, I should have helped them more. Gerry and Shirley gave me a precious gift of love. I hope that I show love to others as they showed their love for me yesterday.