A Funeral of Sorrow and Sweet

張貼日期：Nov 30, 2010 2:5:53 PM

A Funeral of Sorrow and Sweet

William Chang

      Everyone would experience the several stages of life—the birth, aging, illness, and death. These stages may change a person from being childish to mature. And so does one of these events that change me tremendously—the death. My great grandmother died last month. I went to her funeral with my family with sorrow last week. Unexpectedly, I never thought how sorrowful and happy this funeral would be because of the following incidents.

      When my great grandmother passed away, my grandma was so sad that she had a severe heartache. I sent her to the hospital with great panic. This incident astonished me because I had known my great grandmother would leave us, but I was not prepared for the death of my grandmother. Fortunately, after a series of therapies, my grandmother survived.

      My grandfather painted a picture of my great grandmother as a memorial to her. The picture is so vivid and realistic, just like a photograph of her. Whenever my family saw the picture, we could not help crying and missing her. This picture is a meaningful and spiritual symbol of our love to her.

      Finally, her death brought my family together because we all had to attend the funeral. I have not seen some of my relatives since I went to college. It was so good to have the chance to get in touch with them by this reunion. During the preparation of the funeral, we had told the stories of my great grandmother to each other. Some of them were funny; some of them were sorrowful. But all these stories were inspiring and meaningful to us.

      From the above segments of my great grandmother’s funeral, I deeply appreciate that I still have the chance to be good to my mother, grandparents, and all my family. I do not want to regret for missing the opportunities to be with them and kind to them. Besides, although the death of my great grandmother is unacceptable and painful, I believe that I have become stronger because of the loss and pain. And I have a deeper realization that life is but a journey of sorrow and sweet—while we are mournful for losing the loved one, we are cheerful that life can still go on because of the love we give and receive from our loved ones. The funeral has given me a chance to ‘appreciate’ and ‘cherish’ my beloved family while I still have the opportunity.