The past handful of days has seen quite the diverse smattering of happenings. Our dear Marcel was our focus yesterday, of course, and our weekend was peppered with two unique events, yet both had a common denominator.
The folks involved did it their way and it was fabulous.
The first event was a memorial picnic. It was for our dear neighbor who passed away about two weeks ago. My “Waste Not” post is about her. In her final days, she actually told her family “do not waste my money on a funeral”. I just love that-it was vintage her. At eighty-eight and a half, she was still quick as a whip and was not going to let anyone else call her shots, right down to the (thankfully not so) bitter end. Her daughters recognized that a little service in a funeral home was not going to be the right send off for their mom.
Therefore, a late-day picnic on a summer night was had. We were on the beach at the pool club that my neighbor had belonged to for 65 years (!)-kids were swimming, everyone was in their flip-flops, the air was warm, the lemonade and wine were flowing. There were bouquets of summer sunflowers in mason jars and a beautiful family photo on a picnic table. It was casual, happy and peaceful. The stories circulated, there was no stuffiness or weeping. It was a good night. It suited our neighbor to a T, as this was a place where she enjoyed many happy hours throughout her lifetime. It was a perfect ending.
The other event involved a beginning. My husband and I attended a wedding. By all measures, it was a relatively traditional wedding…ceremony, flowers, sit-down dinner, dancing. But there were two brides. Yes, one was in a gown and one was in a dark suit, but there were two women at the center of this day. They were emotional and joyous…thrilled to have found “their person” and then be surrounded by family and friends who supported this union. They walked down the aisle together, danced to everything from country to AC/DC, had a fabulous cookie and cupcake buffet, and truly enjoyed their special day. Again, it was perfect in it’s execution.
They did it their way. Whether it was an elderly woman’s last goodbye to this world or a middle-aged couple just beginning their life together, it was their individuality that powered these events. Good stuff indeed.
“To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying “Amen” to what this world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.”-Henri Matisse
Well, ain’t that just the truth.
(p.s.-I promise that the rest of the week will be a little lighter)
