Birth, Life, and Death

Als Gott sah, // As God saw

dass der Weg zu lang, // that the way was too long

der Hügel zu steil und // that the hill was too steep

das Atmen zu schwer wurde, // and breating became too difficult

legte er seinen Arm um mich // he laid his arm around me

und sprach: // and said

"Komm wir gehen heim." // "Come, we're going home."

Shortly after receiving and experiencing the glory and joy of birth, we got a
strong reminder of the absolute nature of our life on this earth as we found
out that Eva's grandmother passed away.

While words can never really cover the emotions tied with the passing of a loved one, these emotions became, for me, much stronger as I saw my newborn child, Emily - as the beginning of life as reflected with the absoluteness of death in the passing of Eva's grandmother.

One then starts reflecting on one's own age. My bones are getting older, my muscles are getting weaker, and I just don't move like I used to. Don't get me wrong, I'm still young and active, but still a bit older.

My folks came to visit for two weeks, and they arrived the day before the funeral. Seeing ones parents age as well, within the backdrop of a death of a loved one and a birth of a new child puts additional perspective on one's age and eventual death. I still 'see' my parents as they were when I was in High School...even though this was almost 20 years ago; their age when I was in Middle School was not far from my actual age now. While this is probably human nature, it still adds a finiteness and a reminder that we are all aging.

At the funeral, there was a very interesting dynamic: while the group of family and friends were morning the death of their wife, mother, grandmother, or friend, they were all celebrating the birth of Emily (who was with us). It was a very strange yet natural dynamic. Perhaps seeing a newborn helped ease the pain.

While I only new Oma Göttgens (Tick Tack Oma) for a few short years, the funeral was difficult, as I have many, many warm memories of her. She always made me feel a part of the family and she always made sure that my favorite chocolate truffles were in her house when we visited. Simple, but very heartwarming.

My favorite picture is below: of her and Quinn, looking at airplanes flying over their backyard.

Thank you for listening / reading.