Uncle Jim’s funeral (part I)

 

My husband’s uncle Jim passed away in December.  He was like an uncle to me.  His doctor knew he had a limited time left to live because of his heart.  The doctor said it could be a day, a week, or a year.  They knew it was coming, but hoped it would be the latter.

I tried to remember all the things I have learned about death until now and apply them.  The next morning when I found out he passed away, I thought it would be nice to bring Aunt June and Elizabeth, her daughter, breakfast.  On the way back home from taking Ashton to school, I stopped by Chic-fil-A and got some breakfast for them. 

When I arrived at their house, the door was locked.  I did not want to wake them up, so I hung around outside.  Her neighbor walked up, and we talked for a while.  I went back to their door and saw Elizabeth in the kitchen.  She thanked me for bringing breakfast. 

I knew it would be important to do whatever Aunt June asked us to do.  The first thing she wanted us to do was to finish decorating the Christmas tree.  The night before their family was putting on the lights.  Uncle Jim was tired and retreated to go to bed.  When he went to his bedroom, he had a heart attack.  I knew the task of decorating the tree was very meaningful to her as it was the last thing they were doing before he died.

I helped Elizabeth put the ornaments on the tree, and Elizabeth and Aunt June told me stories about special ornaments.  There were boxes all in the living room, and I knew since people would be coming over she would want everything tidy.  Evelyn also came over, and we finished decorating the tree and house and put the boxes up.