Celebration of Life

I went to a “Celebration of Life” over the weekend.  I’ve worn my funeral attire four times in the past two years.  COVID resulted in only two, regardless of why, each time gives pause to think about how you want yourself to be remembered.  

I looked up what exactly Celebration of Life means.  It is an event that focuses primarily on the life a loved one lived and the legacy they left behind.  It is about happy memories, not sad ones, and I liked that.  

There’s so much opportunity to be sad.  If there’s sadness when I’m gone, I want it to be a happy sadness.  Is there such a thing?  I hope so 🤔.

I want my family to remember me as someone who loved and cared deeply for them.❤️

I want my co-workers to remember me as someone who was their teacher and mentor and only wanted the best for their growth and career development.

I want the cafeteria workers and our janitorial staff to remember me as someone who never forgot about them on holidays, birthdays, and special occasions.

I want my friends to remember me as a loyal and trusting person.

There’s so much I want to be remembered for, and every day is the opportunity for me to show kindness to others so they have kind words, funnies, and great memories to talk about.  These were the things I pondered as I sat there during my friend’s celebration of his life.

Among other things, my friend will always be remembered for his Hawaiian shirts.  Now that is a heartwarming memory.  

R.I.P.