Bloganuary #15 – Cherish Family

Today’s blog was later than usual because for the last two days my family has been together celebrating the life of my dear Uncle Winston who recently passed away. Today we laid him to rest, and afterwards we all came together and gave him a proper send off, Jamaican style.

Sitting there amongst these people I have known and loved all of my life, there were feelings of reverence, sadness, love and happiness floating through the air all at once. I couldn’t help but think about the resilience of our family’s love. Family is everything. Over the years we have separated to different states and different lives, but our love for each other could never be questioned, and whenever the occasion arose, we have always made an effort to be present for each other. Together we have celebrated birthdays, weddings, and christenings and today we all showed up for Uncle Winston. My family is huge and let me tell you, no one could ever accuse us of not knowing how to have fun. Today was no exception, the curried goat, roti, chicken and jerked pork were flowing alongside quite tears and laughter all while we rocked to Studio One sounds playing in the background. Still, nobody forgot the reason we were all there. We were there because we had lost a loved one and we were there to say goodbye and support my aunt and the entire family.

I sat at the table, and I looked at my own parents and my aunt, visibly years older. I’m still lucky to have all my siblings and cousins still here and I must say we’re all still a good-looking bunch but the fact that we’ve aged cannot be denied. The young men and women of our family who were once the babies have started getting married and having babies and lives of their very own. Life is a cycle, and our family is not exempt. Soon we will be replaced by the younger generation, as it should be. At this realization my sister and I sat quietly trying to hide our tears.

So, enjoy family while they’re still here. Show them your love and appreciation now. Keep in touch if they’re at a distance and tell them you love them often enough, so they won’t forget!

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