Sunday, May 15, 2011

Epitaph

My brother-in-law (the family genius) posed these questions on his blog:
Have you thought:
What you want to be remembered for?
Who you want to be remembered by?
What will be remembered about you 50 years from now - that is, what really counts?

I started considering those questions seriously when both of my parents passed away. As their only child with no offspring (cats don't count!), I got a very real look at my own mortality as I sat at their respective funerals surrounded by family. I felt very alone as I considered death, my own, that is. All of my siblings have children (and most have grandchildren) who will attend their funerals and extoll their virtues and sing their praises.

Who will attend mine? If I don't have children, who will remember me? and for what?

Yes, those questions hit me hard at that time, and it's a good thing because it means I get to make sure that the things I do in my life and with my life are for me -- not in a selfish way, but in that way that's good for me to make sure I do make something worthwhile out of my life.

A lighter post coming up, I promise!

2 comments:

  1. It's a good thing you have a plethora (I don't know if that big word is in the right context) of nieces and nephews who adore and look up to you so much and will remember you for all the good times they had with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I plan on speaking at your funeral, I have already prepared my comments. Don't worry, I have enough lies to tell, to impress people. They WILL remember your funeral.

    ReplyDelete