Lessons from Lunch at a Cemetery

Death. The ultimate ending point of life. It’s a word that all of us know, and that most of us have felt the harsh reality of. I remember the first time I experience the finality of death. I was in the 2^nd grade, and our lab (Duke) was hit by a car. Little did I know the person who comforted me on that Tuesday would be the next person who I would be faced with losing in life.  

My Granny exited this life and entered eternity on June 20^th, 2000. Yesterday would have been her 71^st birthday. I. LOVE. BIRTHDAYS. I find great joy in celebrating the people in life that I love, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to you to know that I still celebrate my Granny’s birthday. When I was younger, I would make her a card, and bury it somewhere outdoors (I’m not really sure what the child-like logic of that was – but I did it, every year, without fail). The January after I got my license, I started a new tradition of lunch at the cemetery.  For the past six years on a day in the middle of January, I have made my way to the cemetery armed with Mellow Yellow (the only thing I can remember her enjoying food/beverage wise with the exception of liver, which isn’t happening for this girl) and a beach towel. I sit, and celebrate her life .. and, if I’m honest with you, sometimes cry that it was over so soon.

But, that isn’t exactly what I’m here to write about. Sandra Aldrich Headley (Sandra Kaye Aldrich) was born and a Tuesday, and died on a Tuesday. As I sat today, I thought about how those two Tuesdays defined what every stranger that has ever looked at her headstone thought of her life. Yes, January 18, 1944 and June 20, 2000 are important dates, but I think all of Tuesdays in between are what mattered the most. Like the Tuesday that she held me as I cried over our lost family pet, or the Tuesday that she went for a swim with me, and definitely the Tuesday that she dressed up as Raggedy Ann for my birthday. All of those days are what made her life, not just the day she was born and the day she died.

All of my life I have heard how short life is, and recently I’ve discovered the truth in that statement. As a result, I am working towards being content with each day of my life. No longer looking forward to the next phase of life, but truly loving the one I am in. I am focusing on enjoying this day – because I know that I’ll never get it back. So, today, as you go through life, remember that one day you’ll be remembered by a headstone with two dates that are important, but that it is all of the days in between that truly matter.

Let your light shine. Be kind. Most importantly, enjoy today for today, and not because it takes you one step closer to tomorrow.

 

Blessings, 

Hannah