Friday, June 5, 2015

Perspective


I'm tired tonight. It's been a long day. A lot of freeway driving and traffic, a friend's funeral, car trouble. All this took up the whole day. And tonight: leftovers.

My feet burn, my shoulders ache and my ears are ringing. I feel drained.

But I can look forward to a good night's rest. I can be glad of friends who shared the day with me, one who did most of the driving and another who backed me up when my car backed out on me. The leftovers weren't great, but they were okay.

And today I did not get my heart broken by the loss of a dearly beloved. The hardest thing for me about my friend's funeral was knowing how much harder it was for her family.

I have tomorrow.

20 comments:

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I too feel weary tonight. Some of my most favorite people have gone on to the other side of that bridge.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I am very sorry for your and Karin's loss... I can imagine how today (yesterday) was hard, seems like when one thing goes wrong, it becomes a domino effect... believe me, I've been there. The only comfort is that she is no longer in pain... Not to ignore what her family is going thru, her son is where my heart goes out to, the hole in his heart is great for sure.

Virginia said...

Bless you for being there for sweet Tash's family. My heart was with you.
V

Petrea Burchard said...

They're the ones I think about, not me. PA knew her better than I did. She was so good to us all. Her son said that when he looked out over the full house at the church, he knew that she had touched all our lives and made us all better people. What an example she was. What a good man he is, and will be.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking about those who loved her most, and those she loved the most; her son, most particularly. I'm also thinking about me, what Tash meant to me. Most of all, though, I'm thinking about Tash.

BettyS said...

Petrea, so sorry for the loss of your friend. It sounds like she was a wonderful person. I'm glad you picked a photo of the park for a restful thought.

Petrea Burchard said...

I think of her too, Karin. How long she was sick, how positive she was, how much she loved her son. People die every day; when it's someone I know it makes me reflective. I don't mean to feel sorry for myself. Tash was a good friend, though not a close one. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that being tired, having minor worldly troubles, etc.—none of that is important.

She was a wonderful person, Betty. She was the kind of person who came out to support whenever she could. She brought kindness and cheer with her.
I love our beautiful park and I know you are partly responsible for it. Thank you.

Shell Sherree said...

I'm so sorry for everyone feeling the loss of a beautiful person. One's appreciation of everything is heightened at times like this ~ including leftovers. This is a gorgeous photo, Petrea. I love the light and the long shadows. Seems very fitting.

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Shell. I met her via blogging, so it seems fitting to say goodbye to her here as well.

William Kendall said...

I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. Funerals do tend to be exhausting.

Jean Spitzer said...

I am glad you were able to honor her memory at her funeral and here. She was a delight as a blog presence and will be missed.

Petrea Burchard said...

Tash was a good friend, though we weren't close. I am thinking the day was much harder for those who were closer to her, and that minor concerns don't matter in the face of the loss of someone you love.

Here's my best story about Tash: About six years ago I was in an awful play. Awful. At first I blogged about rehearsals, but when I realized how bad the play was going to be I stopped talking about it. When it opened, although I hadn't spoken of the play in weeks, Tash came to see it. She stayed for the whole thing and waited for me afterward. We both knew the play was bad and we had a good laugh about it. She was relieved that she didn't have to pretend! It was so good of her to come, and to stay, and to support me.

At the memorial, her son Ian got up to speak. He'd been sitting in the front row and hadn't realized how full the church was. You could see it hit him when he said something like, "Wow. Full house." He read a letter to Tash from her aunt, who lamented that she couldn't be at her dear niece's memorial. Then he said he had a few things to add.

He looked out over the congregation and said, "My mother was the kind of person who brought out the best in everyone she met. I know you know this, because there are so many of you here." Then he was overcome. I thought he wanted to say more, but he couldn't.

He didn't have to. That was enough, and it was just the right thing to say. It was why we were there.

Ms M said...

That's very moving - thank you for sharing it with us. She sounds like an amazing person that blessed the lives of many.
I'm so sorry for your and Karin's loss....

savannah said...

*hugs* your best story told me everything i needed to know about your friend. you have my heart. xoxo

Petrea Burchard said...

She's an example, Ms M. In the face of years of cancer, she didn't speak of it, at least not to me and several other of her blogging friends. And I get it. It would make things awkward. Why talk about that when you can just enjoy each other's company? She was graceful and gracious.

Thanks, Savannah. Tash was easy to like.

Bellis said...

Her poor son! I met both of them at your house, Petrea, and they were very close. I remember thinking he was an amazing young man. She was too young to die, and he's much, much too young to lose such a supportive mother. I found out a few months ago that my friend and realtor died last year because of a recurrence of breast cancer. She told no-one, not even her realtor partner,so it was a shock to all who knew and loved her. I wish I'd known, to offer comfort and sympathy, and say my goodbyes, but then again, she was very brave to keep it to herself.

Petrea Burchard said...

He's a young man now, Bellis, and he seems like a great guy. I think he'll be fine, thanks to that great relationship he had with his mother. He's got his dad, too. But surely it will take them both time to get through this.

LOLfromPasa said...

Loving tributes from you all.

Katie said...

So sorry to hear about Tash. What an amazing woman, taken way too early. My thoughts goes out to her family and friends.

Unknown said...

I'm sorry, Petrea...