All The Small Things

This Thursday just gone - the Seventh of September - was the third anniversary of the loss of our dear friend Meg.

 

In some ways, it seems like only yesterday that we were sitting down, having a chat, getting a glass of wine from the bottle that Meg alway had on hand at the flat.

(Not that she'd be drinking the wine - she'd be sucking back a beer.)

 

It got me to thinking actually, about how we remember Meg, what we do to celebrate her life, and the impact of her presence in our own lives.

I think of Meg often. She'll pop into my head at the oddest moments. I have taken this as a sign that Meg is in heaven, or wherever, watching over Nicky and I, and that she is thinking of us. That thought brings me great comfort, that we are still connected and that she is still an active part of our lives. I often think that the greatest, most unexpected gifts have come about as a result of Meg's influence and good wishes for us.

 

This year, I went to sit with Meg. I took a big cup of coffee - from the Starbucks I imagine we would have frequented together had she been here. I sat in the sunshine with her, looking out on the beautiful gap that can be seen from both her gravesite and the farm where she grew up.

I sat there, and I talked with her, about all manner of silly things. I told her of Nicky, and GM, and work, of my family, and the dog. At one point I got a little serious, and at that precise moment, a mourner who was standing just a little ways behind me, about two rows back, let out the loudest fart I think I've ever heard.

I had to laugh - it was just exactly Meg. It was like a message from her to cheer up.

 

I don't think that she would want for any of us to remember her in sadness. I remember her wishes for her funeral - Mrs. Macca and I decorating the reception room with balloons and descriptions of Meg, and the gerbera's in our hair, and the colourful clothes that everyone wore.

 

Mrs. Macca and I were discussing the other night what we should do to remember Meg. I've been talking to people during the week, and they were asking if we had a tradition.

We don't.

But I think we aught to have.

 

Something that we do each year to celebrate the joy and friendship that Meg brought and continues to bring into our lives. Something joyful and full of laughter.