Two Farewells

This has been a very emotional weekend for me.  I flew to California yesterday to attend my dear grandmother's funeral, and when my plane touched down and I turned on my phone I learned that my dad had unexpectedly passed away that morning.

I had already planned to head straight to the temple from the airport, and after receiving that news I was especially grateful to go someplace where I felt so close to God, and to my family.  My parents were married there, as was I.  My grandparents directed the volunteers there for three years.  It was comforting to walk those familiar halls where my family and I have worshiped so many times.

When a kind stranger agreed to take my picture outside the temple, I asked her to take a "missing man" shot too.  Years ago, my Dad often went hiking in the mountains with his brothers.  One time, his brothers Nile and Dave wanted to climb a certain mountain, but Dad had to skip the trip for some reason.  When Nile and Dave reached the summit, they asked someone to take a photo of them standing on either side of an invisible person, with their arms around his shoulders.  It was their way of saying they loved Dad and wished he could have been there with them.  I wished my dad was at the temple with me yesterday too, and maybe he was.

That evening I had dinner with my siblings, who I haven't seen since we moved from California a couple years ago.  At first it was a somber gathering, but we cheered up as we recalled many fun memories about Dad.

Grandma's funeral this morning was bittersweet.  We all loved her so much, but she had lived a full life, and I'm sure she was grateful to finally leave her health problems behind, and be reunited with the parents and God she loved so much.  I was asked to read a eulogy which my dad wrote the night before he passed away.  It was especially poignant because so many of the things he admired about his mom--her faith, her kindness to others, her devotion to God, and her love for family--were qualities that he had acquired from her.

While it was hard to say goodbye to Grandma and Dad, I was grateful to spend time with so many relatives I love.

That's one of the many blessings of family: they soften our sorrows, and multiply our joys.  Perhaps that's why it's been surprisingly easy for me to deal with my dad's passing.  There are moments when it's hard and I miss him, but mostly I just feel grateful to have had such a great dad for so long.  And I'm so grateful to know that I'll see him again someday.