Funeral Blues

[madasacutsnake]

The ephemeral shall pass away and that which remains is eternal.

Thinking of you from an ocean away.

Lizzie

So, so sorry for your loss.

We give you our love in these words - I wish we could give you more.

[LadyCrow]

{{{{ Avalon }}}}

A poor substitute for the real thing, I realize, but it's there for you just the same.

Blessings to you & your family.

Pax,
LC

[Hyakujo's Fox]

Avalon,

So sorry to hear of such a loss.

[trisherina]

Devastating. So sorry.

[daverbee]

He may be gone from your presence but he will always live in your heart. Hold onto his memory and you will never be apart.
Love and Sympathy,
David

[red]

You have my sympathies.
You don't need to apologize here.

[ally]

My condolences to you & your family. My mum lost her brother in similar circumstances just over two years ago, he was about the same age & left a son of 7. There is nothing that can be said to hea lthe pain, it never goes away, but becomes part of your life. You will carry on thinking abut him, but you'll find as time goes on, these thoughts will bring you more happiness than sorrow. Life is often unfair, but like others have said already, focus on your nephew, & when the time is right, tell him all you can about his wonderful dad, even the naughty things he used to do as a kid! i wish you lots of strength for the future, & love, happiness & frendship. Ally.

[Frieda]

i am so sorry for your loss..

there is no riverbed big enough to carry your tears away, not a valley deep enough to let the river of your tears flow and no mountains big enough to make a valley big enough for your river of tears.

but there are hearts warm enough to protect you in this emptiness. to hold you and support you in this intense pain over your loss. we will be here for you.

[zefrank]

i'm so sorry about your brother. i'm sure that you are a great comfort to the rest of your family. my thoughts are with you.

[surflugen]

Avalon, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I will keep you in mind and pray for you and your familly to get past this.

[Clytie]

i understand death probably better than most. i work among it everyday. but it doesnt help to understand the whys behind it all. your in my prayers.


"may the Lord bless thee and keep thee
and cause his face to shine upon thee
and give thee peace"

[Magpie]

Awww Avalon! I am so shocked and saddened to hear this. I won't even try to begin to know what you and your family are going through. My prayers and thoughts of comfort and healing are with you.
xoxo

[Wldchld]

Av, I am so sorry. I know there is nothing anyone could say that could help heal you & your family's pain, but if I could I would. A part of him will always live on in your memories & in your heart. You & your family will be in my thoughts & in my prayers. Take care.

[Avalon]

I would like to take this time to thank everyone for their kind expressions of sympathy; they have helped more than you will ever know.

We laid my beautiful brother to rest yesterday. You will be proud of me; I actually held it together and said a few words about and to my brother at the service. 3 white doves were released in his honor. The weather was perfect, the service lovely, and the whole ordeal seems sureal.
Since I have shared so much of this with you, I thought you might be interested to know that we did not dress Jeff in a suit. He stopped wearing them when he changed professions 8 years ago. He had been the co-owner of a restaurant til the birth of his son. The hours were interminable, and with the prospect of his son growing up without him, he went to sheet metal work, a 9-5 job. He was free to spend all of his free time with family, which he did.
When it came time to chose clothing for his showing, my mom panicked. "I don't see his suits anywhere". Pfft..I gently reminded her that no one would know it was Jeff if they saw him in a suit. I suggested we dress him the way he was the last time and every time I saw him: a jersey, long jean shorts, ball cap (on backwards) and tennis shoes. My brother was laid to rest wearing his favorite Michigan State jersey, shorts and shoes. His cap was on the pillow next to him. The pall bearers, along with his son and my other brother, all wore Michigan State T shirts to match Jeff's jersey. I could hear Jeff laughing at this sight....all but one pallbearer/friend are Ohio State fans. Jeff got over on them one more time He would have loved that.
I am acutely aware that there are dark days ahead for me and my family. There has been a flurry of activity these past 6 days; out of town family and friends rallying to our sides. But now it is time to get back to the task of everday living....and this is going to be the hardest part for me/us. I know there are going to be a 1,000 things I see,hear, or think of, that I will go to phone him about. Only to remember that I can no longer do that. But I suspect I will be talking to Jeff for the rest of my life. I know that I will never get over this, but I must, somehow, get past it. Learn to celebrate his life and not mourn. But that day is not this day; I will try again tomorrow, I promise.

Again, I thank you for being here for me in my time of need. I knew I had found a comfort zone here months ago and your support has shown me just how right I am about the Monkeys.
When my mom is stronger, I plan to show her all of your notes and compassionate words; I will do the same for Jordan.
Until then, I will read and reread them for myself.
Once again, I thank you. And somewhere, my baby brother thanks you for helping me.