Yesterday was my cousin’s funeral. Ever since we got the news earlier in the week, I’ve been pretty calm and have tried to look at it positively. It wasn’t until I had arrived at the visitation centre for the viewing that the emotions came flooding in.
Above the casket hung a video screen. I sat there quietly by myself for an hour, watching the slideshow of my cousin’s photographs. There were photos of him as a baby and many others of him with my cousins. When I saw a picture of him at my parent’s wedding I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, I wasn’t even born at the time!” Then I saw one particular photo. My cousin was sitting at the piano with a little 3 year old girl dressed in a bright pink outfit. She had short hair and big curious eyes.
That little girl was me.
When I saw that picture, a pool of tears formed in my eyes. In my head all I heard was my cousin’s voice, even though I couldn’t make out the words he said. That picture of me and him sitting on the piano bench reminded me of what he was like. And although I never really got to know him very well, I know my faint memories of him will always remain with me.
I guess goodbyes are never easy to say and the idea of having to part with people you love and care about can be hard to digest. But inevitably, it is a part of life that we all must experience at one point or another.
After the service, my parents and I along with other relatives visited the grave of my grandparents. We decorated it with some flowers and cleaned off the headstone. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. I felt like it was the perfect close to another chapter of my life.
