Dysfunctional

The day after the funeral. I am still in a daze....thinking this is some unreal reality I am trapped in.

Five days after my best friend and wife of almost 24 years has gone is the day after her funeral aka celebration of life. The funeral director told me it was the biggest turnout he had seen in quite some time. A testament to Beverly as she was always smiling in spite of her ailments.
Years of sibling hurt and disagreements have torn my in laws apart. Hurt among the children toward each other and against the parents. I looked around while we were eating dinner after the service and it struck me. My destiny was to get this family back to being one. In this sad occasion of my wife’s passing this has became my cause.
The meal had ended and before we parted ways for the night I spoke to the lot of them. Afterwards there were tears from what I had told them. From the heart I spoke of how proud I was to be a part of this clan for the last almost 30 years. We are not perfect and will not be . But we will always be family. As I pointed out not one member of my family had came to dinner. Not even my own mother or brother. Our task was to put the past behind us and it was a new day to get along.
This morning we met for breakfast before journeys were made back to Florida and Ohio. Among the smells of bacon and coffee in the diner there was one that got me and my wife’s father optimistic. The aura of hope that we could reunite. I like that idea.