Because he died at home and hadn't been to the doctor in the last month, the coroner's office had to be called to determine the cause of death and sign the death certificate. Normally, his regular physician could sign but in January, the day of his appointment, he had diarrhea and so we had to cancel it. The weather was so cold and snowy that he held off scheduling another one. Since he wasn't very steady walking and his legs were pretty weak, he didn't want to go out if it was icy which made sense. However, the paramedics and a cop grilled me with a lot of questions, implying that I might have killed him! It's regular procedure to investigate to make sure no one came in and killed him. The house had to be sealed and I wasn't even allowed in to feed his upstairs cats for a day so I put out extra food and water for them.
His body was taken to the Coroner's office so I didn't get his wallet back until after his funeral. The Coroner sent it to the funeral home so I had to go there yet again. He only had $30 in it (which is more than I have in mine by the way) but I cried when I saw what else was in there. He had a picture of my mom from when they were engaged (1948) and two of me from when I was in first grade (1958) and my high school graduation picture (1970)!
Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. I realized at that particular moment how much he loved us and felt very blessed. It was such a great thing to find in his wallet. My mom had died six years before him but he never, ever showed any interest in any other woman. I have his picture on my desk at work and by my computer at home. I have our family picture on top of my wardrobe and like seeing these every day. I miss both my parents very much and probably always will the rest of my days, but life goes on and one day we'll be together again. In the meantime, I find great comfort in knowing they are in heaven together with Jesus my Lord, with new bodies and no more pain or sorrow. What a wonderful God we have who made this possible and gives us hope. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I Corinthians 15:42-58, I Peter 1:3-9, Rev. 21:4--"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.")
Do you carry a picture of your loved ones with you? Come to think of it, I need to add a picture of Gerard in my wallet. If I die before him, I'm sure it will please him to know I loved him enough to carry his picture with me (I have one of my first cat, Moe--better add Gerard!).
UPDATED 2/19/10: Writing about one of your February pictures was a prompt for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week.
