On a day filled with horrid memories that I'd like nothing more than to forget - one person said one thing to me that I hope to remember forever.
As I stood next to my fathers casket - he didn't look like himself. He was swollen from surgery, he was lifeless, it made him unrecognizable; he was always so full of life and laughter, it was so difficult to realize that I'd never hear it again. I am mostly glad that he didn't look like himself after surgery - it's allows me to remember my father's smiling, tan face like it always was, not this nightmare. I was sad, though. I was sad for those who haven't seen him in a while. He looked so bad that we had actually considered a closed casket, but we felt that people would want to see him - say goodbye for themselves.
When he arrived at the viewing, my dad's cousin approached me in the receiving line. "He doesn't look like himself," I said. He looked me straight in the eye and without hesitation said, "that's okay, because you do."
