Travel: Aunt Margie

I am never sure what to say about funerals. It is not like I enjoy going to them, but I always feel better after I have gone to one. I have at least one good memory from every funeral I have ever been too. At family funerals you get that chance to reconnect that we are often too busy to take the time for.

We ended up changing our vacation plans to go to my Aunt Margie's funeral. I took too extra days off work and we left for Seattle a day later. I am happy we went. It was good to be there for Uncle Joe and the rest of the family. I know that people just taking the time to show up in important.

The good news is that Kate got the chance to meet more of the family. We spent some time with Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary. They could not make it to the wedding last year. It was great that Kate got the chance to meet them.

I did not pull out my camera at all for the any of the family gatherings around the funeral. It felt like it would be too intrusive for people to have their picture taken. When I die, I want people to take photos at my funeral. I want it to be a celebration of my life. What is more my life than people saying, "Oh No, Rich is taking pictures again. If you come to my funeral some day, bring your camera along.

What I saw at this funeral is that I need to take more time to connect with people. A lot of this winter Kate and I stayed in, just hanging out with each other. This spring and summer Kate and I want to get out more and see people. It is the right time for us to take trips.