I sure did not anticipate this...

I’m not the only one that has been asked, “What is the first thing you want to do when quarantine is over?”  My answer would always be, “Have coffee with a couple friends.”  Simple, but something I love immensely.  Surely that is what would bring the most joy to my heart.  

No.  I found out today the answer to that question.  On a simple drive to drop off Avriel at her cousin’s house.  There was a sight that brought tears to my eyes.  There was that familiar feeling of wetness in my eyes and fullness in my chest as I whispered out loud, “Thank You.”  The picture is imprinted on my brain, and I think I want it to stay there for a while.

I know you want to know what it is, but you may be a bit disappointed or shocked.  It was line of cars, a canopy, velvet-covered chairs, a hearse, and a coffin.  I haven’t seen such an oddity since the world shut down in March.  What’s odd is that I was not crying because of grief.  I was crying because of overwhelming joy.  “They get to say goodbye,” I said to myself or God, maybe.

I thought hard about this.  Why am I so emotional?  I realized that there is nothing that grieves me more about this quarantine than the families that never got to say goodbye.  Never got to touch them.  Never got to wet them with their tears.  Never got to hold each other in grief and celebration of life.  Is there any other gathering that was more necessary than this?  More missed than this?

In our county there are 11 families (not including the others that lost loved ones to other causes) in this unprecedented horrific situation.  In New York, there are thousands.  So today, peace washed over me as I saw a line of cars, a canopy, velvet-covered chairs, a hearse, and a coffin.  “Thank you. They get to say goodbye."