MEMORIAL DAY 2021, MONDAY, MAY 31
This is not a fanciful or inviting subject matter for discussion in a youth-oriented culture, but one that needs to see the light of day on occasion. And on the occasion of the hopeful decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s appropriate to reflect on lessons learned from any milestone event in our lives. Vaccinations in America are beginning to control the viral spread here, but other areas of the world that are not so fortunate like India are experiencing record infections and deaths. The gift of life is fragile and we should be appreciative on every waking day. Over three million deaths worldwide have now been recorded.
Death comes calling quickly for some of these unfortunate
people and has a long and anguished protraction for others. I recently reflected that my father and
grandfather Davis died within seven months of each other and my mother and wife
also died within seven months. My
grandfather and mother had immediate heart failure while my father and wife had
longer challenges with cancer.
I wrote a blog ten years ago about my loss of innocence when I was a child
and experienced the death of our family dog, Patches, after he was hit by a passing
car. That was my first personal
understanding of the reality that our mortal life has both a beginning and an
ending. That concept is quite sobering. Later in life, one of the hardest things I’ve
ever done was to take two of our family dogs to the vet to end their lives,
since they both had terminal issues. I
did find solace in the swift and gentle process. In the past few months, friends and family
have had to do the same. The passage of
time can’t ever erase the precious memory of any sentient being in this life
that has deeply touched our hearts or minimize their eternal influence which
has been indelibly inscribed on our soul. In his passing, Patches had assisted in the preparation for the life ahead of me.
When my daughter and son-in-law drove to pick up my four-year
old grandson from school, they had to gently tell him that they were sad because
their family dog of ten years had died at the vets. His innocent reply was “I’m not sad, she was
sick.” Later after more discussion, he
came to the realization of a mortal life’s ending. When quality of life and suffering has occurred,
we can do the humane thing and end life with compassion for our animals. The majority of our culture still values
human life so that we issue pain meds until there is a natural ending.
Our family pets wake up every morning only taking life as it’s
presented. They don’t have the gift and
sometimes the curse of a frontal lobe that enables us human beings to know that
life has an end game. But that final
evolution of our brain also enables us to prepare for it. We
know going in that we will probably outlive our animal companions. Our comfort is knowing we had a good life
together while they were here. A Day Lily thrives only one day, but that is time enough for them.
My sister Carolyn sent a yellowing Ann Landers column which
concluded, “And, my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good
health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having any fun. Please see to it that my life is taken
gently. I shall leave this earth knowing
with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.”
RIP Rosemary, Jenny-Wren, Lucy, Sonny, Mason and Daisy
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