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A Wedding and a Funeral

By editor ⋅ June 23, 2008 ⋅ Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

My apologies to newsletter subscribers and regular readers of AFC, because I’ve been absent a lot in recent weeks. Life gets complicated sometimes - and just when preparations for my daughter’s wedding in August were gearing up, my stepfather got sick. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer over a year ago, but declared in remission in December. He and my mom enjoyed a good four weeks holiday in Florida, but he was having difficulty eating when they returned to Canada in late February. In early March, we found out that the stomach cancer had recurred and was spreading aggressively.

Although Denny faced his disease with courage and determination, each week brought more pain and less mobility. He died on June 14th, at home, with my mother by his side, and his funeral was this past Wednesday. Denny was buried near my brother, who died three years ago, in the peaceful little cemetary in the village where I live. My real dad, my biological father, died four years ago, but was cremated, as per his wishes, without ceremony or memorial services.

Life goes on, as I’m currently trying to convince my mom. We have a wedding celebration to attend in August, when my daughter will marry the love of her life. Perhaps there will be grandchildren, and great-granchildren to welcome in the future. But my mother’s final resting place is already decided upon, in the little piece of hallowed ground between my brother and my stepfather. And my own permanent piece of village real estate, at my mother’s feet, has also been purchased. I’m saddened, yet heartened. Perhaps I should have entitled this post, “A Funeral and a Wedding.” Because no matter how many funerals we go to, including our own, life goes on…

Tags: funeral, stomach cancer, wedding