Life at a funeral

Yesterday was the day we said goodbye to Tony. Funeral's are such a rough experience; for me it was seeing Gina's Yiayia in so much pain. It seems the worst end of death goes to the living rather than the deceased. Fortunately the girls were there to offer a little ray of sunshine. Genevieve, who seems to be very in tune with the emotional air around her, had a quivering lip and a concerned stare the whole time, as though she could sense that everyone was sad but didn't know why. At the grave site she stood next to Gina's Yiayia and just looked up at her with a hand placed on her knee as though she was consoling her; which I'm quite sure is what she was trying to do. Arianna wasn't as upset, but still took in the energy and reverence, understanding that she needed to be quite and reserved through the proceedings. There was one point that I had to take her out of the church because she was crying, but once I got her in the kids room I realized she was struggling with a poop so I gotta give her a pass on that one (no one wants to fight a poop while wearing tights and an itchy dress). We're so lucky to have such well behaved little girls. I could not have asked for better behavior from 16 month olds. Hey, I wouldn't even expect better behavior from a 5 year old. More than anything, though, the girls were a brilliant visual that life on this rock goes on, despite our departure. The world doesn't start and stop with our breath. As one passes away, another rises to fill the void; keeping the cycle spinning. It's a little disheartening if you look at as though your life doesn't matter because the world doesn't stop revolving just because you leave. But I find it uplifting in the sense that we're all connected, so despite my own demise, those I care about, those I love, those I worry about leaving behind will continue to breath; continue to grow; continue to love. At the end of my winter new life will spring up through the snow to beautify the world once again.