cyberfelix

So last week my grandfather passed away. I had to drive 9 hours across the Southwest Desert to bury the greatest man who ever lived. No I'm not exaggerating.

Anyway, when you're in a hot car for nine hours, you tend to think. A lot. And as I had no company other than my friend, I. Pahd I got to thinking about married life and my grandma.

My grandparents came from the old school. The right school, the school of when you say "I do," you better mean it with all your heart and soul. For people like my grandparents, there are two very important days in one's life, your wedding night. This is the first night you will spend the rest of your life with that person...if you're lucky and you die first. The second important day is the first night you are alone in your house after your spouse passes away. This is the day you will spend the rest of your nights alone.

Now not everyone lives their lives like this. But just try to imagine, you found the love of your life. Your brother, your sister, your forever. This person you cannot, will not live without. You spend 55+ years with someone. You know everything about them because you are everything about them. There are no secrets. The games are over.

It's hard to imagine what my grandma is going through right now. Or what she went through that first night in over 50 years that she crawled into their bed alone. That first morning that she woke up alone.

This is why people cry at funerals. It's not because someone has passed away, completed their circle of life. It's because their lives have been profoundly affected. Their decision of "til death do us part" has been fulfilled and even though it was in the contract, it wasn't on their terms.