Thoughts on Death

09/28/2005

Death seems to be the topic of the day. A coworker said that today is the 17th anniversary of the day his mother died. He was busy bringing his kids to school and went to wake her up and she was naked, sprawled out on the floor in her room, no breath left in her. He said that he went to work that day after she was “taken care of,” mostly because he didn’t know what else to do.
Then another coworker shared about when her father died. He was golfing with a bunch of friends. They all wanted to leave after playing the ninth hole, but he thought it was a lovely day and wanted to finish off the game. So, his friends left, and he finished his game. On his way back to the car, he had a heart attack and died. According to his score card, it turns out he had golfed a really good game though. Not a bad way to go out.
Reminiscing about an old coworker, they said a teacher that worked at Hyde was 37 years old. She worked all day, then went home after school with a bag of papers to grade. As she was unlocking the door of her house she had a stroke and died. Her kids found her when they came home from school.
Being that I currently have a horrid cold that has been going strong for a full week now, I was already in a pretty somber mood today. But now, after hearing all these thoughts on death, life seems slow, as though in a movie. And I look at others a little more careful, more appreciative way. Life seems so long and so tedious sometimes, but when it ends its sometimes so abrupt like a speeding car hitting a wall.
I just hope that when I go my family and friends know the depths of my love and care for them, even though I pretty much suck at showing it. And I hope that my funeral can be a place of laughter, of fond memories, and reminiscing. (Sidenote: I have requested that, if I die of dysentery, Josh bury me in a funny t-shirt that will offend people initially by its humor, but will be funny in retrospect).