Friday, December 7, 2012

REST IN PEACE


   My aunt just died.
   It dumped me into a vortex of thoughts & memories. I still haven't figured it all out. Pandora's box has been opened.
   When did they all become mortal? They always seemed like they were invincible & would be around forever, my family. And now we have come to a point where there's not many of us left. Oh sure, there's the younger generations. But Life's pulled us all to different parts of the country & we have lost touch. We have an excellent grapevine when something bad happens. But as for daily life--- we are all too intent on "getting by" and surviving.
   Of course, it reminds me of my own mortality. I have so much I want to do yet. So much I want to write. (I wish I could be more prolific like my friend Rae Gee). And you know what? My aunt never even got to read my book DESDINOVA. She was a very important part of forming who I am, and I wanted to share it with her & the rest of my family.
   When I made the decision to publish, I decided to be progressive & go digital. It is also green. I did not think of the fact that it was excluding my most important readers-- my family. Not everyone has access to technology yet. So i have been thinking-- to either find a regular publisher, or self publish-- or even print up a copy and pass it around the family.
   One good thing that has come from her passing, is that it has drawn the family closer. A regular family reunion is in the planning & I am all for it. As much as i hate talking on the phone, I need to get over that. I have had some wonderful conversations recently catching up with family members. It makes me realize what i have been missing in my life-- and I always had it.
   It's time for our family to come together to have peace in our souls. For better or worse, we belong together.
   As for our departed family, we miss them in our lives, but they are always with us. They helped make us who we are, and we are not complete without them. I am a part of that equation.
   REST IN PEACE, Aunt Kat. We love you.

7 comments:

  1. The Story of the Fire Lily
    The crackling flames rise skyward as the waving grass is burned,But from the fire on the veld a great truth can be learned...For the green and the living hillside becomes a funeral pyre As all the grass across the veld is swallowed by the fire... What yesterday was living,today is dead and still, But soon a breathless miracle takes place upon the hill...For,from the blackened ruins there arises life anew And the scarlet lilies lift their heads where once the veld grass grew... And so again the mystery of life and death is wrought, And man can find assurance in this soul-inspiring thought, That from a bed of ashes the fire lilies grew, And from the ashes of our lives God resurrects us,too.

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  2. In memory of your Aunt Kat and John Lennon too.

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  3. THANK YOU for the beautiful sentiments!

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  4. Tammy Ratliff WaltonDecember 16, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    I miss them all to cuz, and grandma held us all together, now it has fallen to Aunt Deb.

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  5. It is actually up to ALL of us now. The reunion will help that and i can't wait. I still dream of everyone, where we are all together, but the ones who have passed are just in another room for the moment.

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