Goodbye My Friend

It is the night at the end of an emotional week full of tears, laughs, and reflections, all culminating in the memorial service today for my dear friend Gerald and his brother, Eldon.  There was a profound sadness, but also joy, and a calmness and beauty in all of it that was really humbling.

I wasn't sure that I would be able to bring myself to attend the visitation and viewing on Friday evening, yet part of my own personal grieving process with death is to have some moments with the departed person as part of making it real.  Knowing that their spirit has left the physical body of this lifetime, and having those final moments with their physical being, while I absorb what I can to then carry on with their spiritual being.  

At one point in the evening, I was able to have the honor of meeting the two women who were first on the scene of the accident, and who tended one each to both Gerald and Eldon, caring for and staying with them until the paramedics arrived.  One of the women was a trained first responder, and the other had lost a son of her own to a tragic accident.  They were truly two angels who were meant to be there at that moment for that purpose, and to then be present last evening to share information and answer questions for family and friends.  It's difficult to put into words what a blessing it is to know that Gerald and Eldon were both being cared for so well, and what an honor for me and others to be able to speak with these women who were there in those moments, and are the bridge connecting their lives to their passing.  There was a real beauty in all of it, knowing that such kindness, care, and tenderness were returned to two people who spent their lives giving those same qualities to others.  

Today's service was literally overflowing with people, and it was very touching and lovely.  The eulogy for each of them, the slideshows of photos, and the personal tributes all told their life story beautifully, with the perfect amount of humor and wit, as well.  I didn't have any planned remarks, and wasn't sure that my voice would hold, but I decided to say some words about the friend and person that I knew Gerald to be.  It was a small fraction of what I wanted to say, but I managed to find some words in the swirl of thoughts and emotions that have taken shelter in my head and in my heart.  The real sentiment, which I wasn't able to get out, is that for a time he was my best friend, and I loved him.  Gerald adored his family, and he cared deeply for his friends, and it is one of the profound honors of my life that I was one of them.

I returned to the water this evening, and walked to the same bench where I sat on Monday night, and watched the sun set across the still of the water, in a beautiful setting, bringing to close the day that I say goodbye to one of the most generous and true friends that I've known.  

So goodbye my friend, and off you go to the endless roads across the sky.