Love and Loss

The funeral for my Aunt Iris was today; I was asked to be a pallbearer, which was a new experience for me. It was a very emotional experience for everyone involved, as you might imagine ... words really aren't adequate to describe how important she was to all of us, especially my dad. He served in WWII, but I doubt he was ever braver then, than he was today.

In a lot of ways, it was a shame Aunt Iris couldn't be there ... she always loved family visits. And of my peculiar clan I have always thought she epitomized all of our best qualities, while blessedly free of our worst. But I think my dad put it best when he said, "Wherever she is, they're damn lucky to have her."

And we were damn lucky to have her for as long as we did, for which I'm grateful.

-The Gneech