Yesterday was a Cold, Raw Day with a Blessing

We put Tony in the ground yesterday. There was only a graveside service, short and not enough for many of us. We are going to put on a wake in a few weeks. But, Tony’s family now knows how many people that golf badly, play poker badly, gamble badly and hang out at the corner bar love him. I’d put it at two to one, us, and family/family friends.

The cemetery folks weren’t ready for the onslaught but they coped.

The day had started out, for this part of the country, looking pretty good. Wednesday had brought rain. The forecast was for clear skies and something in the low fifties. That happened; but, the weather forecaster neglected to tell us that at about 11:00 a.m., the starting time, the wind was going to pick up.

I’d taken my overcoat from home and left it at the office, a mistake. We had tears from the event and from the cold.

The brief service ended. People milled about, smiling, talking, hugging. Given the brevity, we weren’t really ready to leave. I wandered around, smiling, talking and hugging, though I’m not always comfortable with that last one.

Here’s the blessing. A friend brought her daughter, a little bit of a girl of about a year and a half. She of course had no idea of what was going on, was cold and was hugging her mom for warmth if nothing else. I’d not met the young lady before, so I smiled and introduced myself. She gave me a look and retreated into the crook of her mother’s arm.

The adults among us talked a bit, me standing and she being held, in our positions. I looked at her and smiled. She reached into the baggy her mom was holding and took out a Cheerio. We were close enough that I only had to lean my head forward a bit to receive a bit of non-religious sacrament.

I backed up a bit and she reached back into the baggy and got another piece, holding it out. This time I got my Cheerio by hand, both of us smiling. Something or someone else got her attention and our moment was over.

All of your comments this week were also blessings.