Something I hope I never have to do...

All things considered, longevity runs in the blood for my family. I was raised with both sets of Grandparents and even Great Grandparents, and that wasn’t odd to me. Case in point, my husband’s parents were a little older when they got married and had children. Neal didn’t grow up knowing both sets of Grandparents and I’m not even sure he had Great Grandparents living, even at birth. But for me, I was just shy of 28 and had two great grandmothers still living. That’s mostly unheard of these days. (Well, I guess it’s a little more prevalent in the South since a lot of couples got married young and had children right away.)

I’ve watched people very close to me, and some not so close, say their final good-bye’s to loved ones. Some of these are siblings, parents, grandparents and even some are their children. Since High School, I have sung for funerals for my own family members and for other families in the churches I’ve been a member of. Even if I didn’t know the person who died, I’ve watched the grief and sadness they bore during the funeral mass.

Probably the hardest funerals I’ve ever sang for are those mothers who are burying their children. I’ve watched mothers in their 20’s all the way up to their 90’s bury their children. Despite someone burying an infant or burying a 60 year old child, the sadness is always the same. I will never, ever forget the way my Great Grandmother (or Lil’ Granny as we called her) looked when she buried her oldest daughter, my Grandmother (or Grandmama to us cousins.) To this day, her image is in my mind, even when my Grandmama left behind 5 children. It’s intense and something I could never imagine. I guess until I have children, its something I’ll never fully understand.

The closest thing I could imagine is losing my husband, Neal, or my mother – two of the closest people to me in the world. I know death is inevitable, but it doesn’t mean that I cant wish it wont ever happen to those around me. So it’s ambitious and probably naive, but that is one thing I hope I never have to do.