Two Graduation Parties and a Funeral

Growing up, Mark's family of five kids lived next door to a family of four kids. Mark's Mom and the neighbor kid's Mom were stay at home Mom's and they all spent a lot of time together playing and growing up. There are many stories of the fun that they would all have together. My favorite story that Mark has told me is when on a summer night they (the kids) would all be out playing and would be cautioning each other not to go in the house for anything, even to go potty lest the adults realize how late it is and decide to make all of the kids come in side.

 Last night we learned that the neighbor's Mom passed away. She still lived in the same house on the block where they all grew up. She had lost her husband several years ago and on her own and with the help of her children she had been battling Cancer for a while. She fought hard and she fought long, but she could fight no more. The neighborhood will never be the same.

 This weekend we will gather with friends and celebrate with two families that their children have graduated from high school. We will admire the graduates and celebrate them and wish them a long and happy life. We will pat their parents on the back for a job well done and laugh and talk with everyone. In the midst of this joy will be the shadow of life and how quickly it can turn.

 On Sunday we will spend time with the family of the Mom that has passed. We will let them know that they are not alone and we will hug them. We will tell them that she is at peace and that she fought a hard fight. The family will be sad and they will feel the emptiness of wanting to share a special moment with their Mom and realizing that she is no longer there. I know this feeling, the moment is a shock, I have felt it when my Mom died, my Dad died and even recently when Great Aunt Nina passed. Quite honestly, I still have my Dad's number in my phone, it is hard to let go.

 This is the circle of life we hear about, the crazy joke life plays where one minute you are celebrating a birth, a wedding, a graduation and then celebrating the life that has passed. Somewhere in there is a lesson. Enjoy each and every moment. Look for the sun in the cloudy sky. Walk in the rain and enjoy the dark night and know that we are only here for a split second. We are meant to share our gifts whatever they may be and then we must pass the torch to the fresher stronger graduate of life. In a way this weekend is a reminder that in time everything comes full circle, life's circle.