Saying goodbye

Last week a dear friend died and today we will be attending his funeral. He was 66. A few days ago his widow telephoned and asked that OH say a few words at the wake and of course, although not a task to be looked forward to, he feels honoured to be able to do it. She also asked that we join her and some other friends and family members at a gathering at their house yesterday evening and naturally we went along.

Again, not an event we were relishing but it turned out very well. There were about 15 of us, some of us were strangers to each other, some had travelled long distances and she wanted to be sure that today everyone will know someone apart from the immediate family.

The evening began with her explaining that she wanted us all to relax and to celebrate our friend's life. She thanked us for our support during the past difficult months and asked that we raise our glasses and drink a toast to her late husband. We then spent a couple of hours telling each other of our connection with the family and particular memories of our friend. It was not a late evening and perhaps half prepared us for today's events. I think too that it helped the family. What else would they have done on that last awful evening before the final goodbye to their loved one.