Emotional roller coaster

I survived one of the most emotional weeks I have had in a very long time. So many ups and downs, it should be rated as a ride.

Two funerals, and an anxiety attack that I haven't seen the likes of in years. My body is completely wrecked.

My husband totally does not understand how I can get so emotionally wrapped up in these 'events'. He has the ability to emotionally remove himself, where I do not.

Fridays service was for one of my best lifelong friends father. This one hit me particularly hard. (This is the price you pay for loving someone so dearly. )

As my father had already passed, many years ago, I was revisiting his passing on so many levels. As my friend went through her roller coaster of emotions, I was reminded almost verbatim, how I felt. This enables me to identify with her on a level that not many can. This is where I cannot simply remove myself emotionally. It is not even an option.

I did what I could to support her. She is a machine if nothing else. Even in her greatest depths of grief, she did what had to be done, and put on the most amazing memorial for her father.

This memorial experience for me was worlds apart from Mondays funeral service. This memorial, was not only for my friend and her family, but as I am a part of that family, it was for me too. And though my only efforts in the whole service was to proofread and edit, the service touched me to the core. It was for everyone.

I am not a fan of memorials, because traditionally, people bring out the 'fluff' of the deceased, and sometimes you are left thinking, "Wow...I didn't know who they were talking about."

But in this service, for George; all the stories were the same. He was a characther and a half. He was a laugh waiting to happen. He was beloved by all. And I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. In all the stories, we laughed, we cried, we loved. We grieved.

I documented the service with my camera. And what I documented was a family, so tightly bound, they were a unit. It is the most unique family experience I have ever been blessed to be a part of. They laughed in unison, they cried in unison. They all speak the same language and love the same way. They come together beautifully and they will come through this together, because they are one.

I love this family, that I am blessed to be a part of for so many years. For though I am not bound to them by blood, I am bound to them by love and acceptance. And, that is something I cannot emotionally remove myself from. Nor would I ever wish to try.

So, George, once again, I thank you. For the man you are, the friend you created for me, and the family you accepted me into. I will look after your daughter and family, and I will continue to document their lives for as long as they will let me. I love you, and miss you, and will look for you in my dreams, where you will most certainly show up and tell me, "Nice Ass".

And, yes....I shared that story at the service!

Happy Sunday and God Bless!