Last week I was at my uncle's funeral. It was in Virginia, so it was a long drive to get there. But, I chose driving over flying in these Covid times. I don't know if there was a right or wrong choice, but it was the one I felt comfortable with. A surprising number of cousins came from all over to honor my uncle at his funeral.
Uncle Don was 85 years old. He was a very good man, a Knight of Columbus, a volunteer for Faith in Action, a Communion Minister. He was a dad and grandpa. He worked in sports medicine before he retired. He was my dad's youngest brother. I am Godmother to his youngest child.
The thing that I realized while with my cousins as we celebrated Uncle Don's life is, my uncle made each of us feel special. Each of us might have claimed to have been his favorite or at least special to him. He called each of us around Christmas this past year. He kept in touch. I bet that each of us there had some special memory of my uncle.
I will miss Uncle Don, but I am so thankful that he is no longer suffering. I am not sure how he managed to make each of us feel special to him. Perhaps the simple truth is that each of us, all of us were special to him. And now heaven has another saint and the earth is a little poorer. I am pondering how I can carry on the legacy of making everyone I know feel special to me.
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