Secure a happy ending

Last week my father attended the funeral of his sister, my aunt.

This week another one of my aunts will be buried.

They both died within one week.

Their deaths were of the kind we normally refer to as “natural”.

They were both in their eighties.

One of them died in her sleep, the other one in the hospital holding her oldest son’s hand.

Their husbands had already gone before them. 

Even so.

Whenever someone leaves this life, we are left with a hole in our everyday existence.

Depending on our beliefs about what happens when we die, the hole can feel smaller or bigger.

Apart from the feeling of loss, death gives us a reminder.

A reminder that there is no such thing as a happy ending to an unhappy journey.

A reminder that now is the time to be happy, now is the time to explore, now is the time to love.

Now is the time to start living happily ever after.