Guests smiled as they watched a man and his wife spin around the dance floor. The couple's energy and zest for life left many smiling in wonder. When the song ended they held onto one another a bit as they left the floor. Having been married for over sixty years they knew well the value of loving and leaning on one another in good times and bad. It was a lesson they taught their children and grandchildren. A love lesson that would prove to be invaluable in the weeks ahead.
With the dance floor behind them the couple entered the crowd of family and friends that so often surrounded them. As the man, Tom, glanced around the room his eyes rested on a niece. First giving his wife's hand a small loving squeeze he walked over to her with a warm smile that reached all the way from his heart to his eyes. He immediately engulfed her in one of his famous hugs. In his typical manner, he looked straight into her eyes and listened, truly listened, to the words she spoke. Later she would say that he made her feel as if she was the only person in the room.
A few weeks later Tom walked into his kitchen. He smiled as he recalled an earlier conversation with his daughter. Absentmindedly he adjusted the centerpiece on their family table and turned to open a drawer. Suddenly the world turned black, and he sank to the floor with a crash. The music stopped. His dance had ended.
The message swiftly passed throughout his family. Massive stroke...doesn't look good. As his wife, children, and grandchildren gathered at his bedside, they were joined in spirit by the many people whose lives Tom touched. They struggled to make sense of it. How could someone so full of life be so suddenly at death's door? How could they be without this man who quietly entered their hearts and colored their lives with joy and love? Within days a second message arrived. He had passed. As another niece put it, "His wings were ready, but our hearts were not." His loved ones found themselves stumbling about lost in a gray fog of disbelief and grief.
But his coloring lessons were not finished, and his love was still present. Those closest to him reached out through that dismal fog and found one another. Supporting one another as he had taught them to do they found a way to bring his vibrancy back to life. His family knew his wishes. He had often expressed them. He did not want a solemn funeral, but rather he wanted a celebration of his life. He had a specific request that gave his loved ones a direction. No one should wear black clothes. He wanted people in bright colors. And so they arrived at his services wearing reds, corals, yellows, and bright blues. By wearing vibrant colors they honored the vibrancy of Tom's life and celebrated the remarkable man they were blessed to know.
His coloring lessons continued as his family carried out his wishes. They leaned on one another. They greeted those who gathered with hugs. Their smiles came from their hearts and reached their eyes. They looked people in the eyes and listened, not only giving them the gift of feeling they were the only person in the room but also that each and every person there was loved by Tom. While they would grieve his loss they would also find a way to bring joy back into their lives. And from above Tom reaches for his glass that is now brimming over. He pours a bit into each glass held by the people he loves. Then with glasses now three quarters full they raise them up as he reaches down. A beautiful sound rings out as those glasses touch in a toast to a man who continues to teach so many how to color their worlds with love and joy.
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| God speed, Uncle Tom. |
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