Be Seeing You

It was Merril’s day today.  Not one looked forward to but one that was really as good as could be.  Celebrating the life of her dad and saying goodbye to him.
The venue hired for the memorial was really nice.  Places to sit, places to stand and all tastefully decorated.  Screens could connect to photo presentations and there was a screen at each end of the room.
A number of people turned out to remember the life and times of Merril’s dad.  A pipe band played.  Brian had been associated with it for a number of decades.  They had gone to Europe together to compete in pipe band competitions against some of the worlds best.  They did themselves and their country proud.
Merril and I had gotten there super early and were on hand for the bass drummers’ arrival.  He and his wife were very early, and he explained to me the make up of the drum.  It is 20 kilos and a way has been invented to carry it when walking that is less hard on backs then it once was.  Not cheap but effective.  They were a really nice couple, and I loved hearing him talk about the early inhabitants of Ireland and Scotland.
I had a talk to a relative that had come from a small place near Perth.  He volunteers for one day per week with St. Vincent De Paul in a food distribution area.    It is busier than it has ever been.
Merril and the sisters and brother had memorabilia on display including fire helmets, bag pipes, bowling balls and an axe presented to Brian when retiring from the fire brigade.  A couple of young firies were there and commented they always knew Brian had their back and made sure that if a mistake had been made, that the accuser spoke to Brian before they spoke to his men.  Tough but fair.
There were people there from the bowls club Brian was in.  A couple of people came from the church that Merril and I go to.
Merril and her sisters spoke, and one sister’s daughter was the compare.  They all did well amidst the shedding of tears.  Merril lost it when the pipe band played, and I was not game to go to her as I knew I was on the brink of losing it too.
It was a good day.  An emotional one for sure and one that demanded recovery time after the event.  Yet as a husband, relative and friend I was proud of the family and shared the missing of a man I had grown to love.