Countdown to 11/29/11

My Aunt Theresa passed away this week after battling Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. Our extended families were saddened, and we paid our last respects to her and acted to comfort her immediate family.

At the funeral, I watched as people positioned themselves in the Church. I saw my 91 year old Aunt be escorted to a front pew by one daughter and one grand-daughter. Two of her other children were in the church and did not sit with her. I believe this is because they have been feuding for years.* Her estranged daughter walked passed her Mother twice to do a scripture reading with no acknowledgements either way.  

As sad as this is, it is amplified by the fact this family has suffered the previous loss of two sons and another daughter. They are all they have, and they choose to withhold their love to each other. I don’t know the reasons and do not know if I’d understand any better if I did.

The thought running in my mind was we were all there in one of life’s most pivotal moments. Where else are the fragility of life and the need for bonding more relevant than at a loved one’s funeral? And yet some of us still hold on to the hurt and push others away.

Here were the hypocritical notes come in. I am the same person I scold here. I am estranged from my one sister and choose to stay this way. Maybe I can take my own advice and find a way to get back with her.

Like most people, I always think others should make the first effort, and I can leave my existing position intact. I can be magnanimous and forgiving if the offenders learn the errors of their ways; find contrition and ask for my forgiveness.

Being a little bit hypocritical is like being a little pregnant.

* Note: I hope I’m wrong about this.