We have had many family gatherings
at Tumblin Waters over the years, birthdays and holidays and picnics and
sliding down the waterfalls, but two will stand out in my memory and both
involve sister Kay. The Wedding almost 45 years ago, Christmas 1973, and last
Sunday's funeral/celebration of life also for Kay.
For far too many years now we have
mourned the absence of our parents from our family gatherings. Being the oldest
generation is hard to get used to, we became The Elders, and Kay was The Eldest
as I often liked to remind her. But losing one of our own generation is like
taking a gut punch, a wake up call, a reminder that there is more sand in the
bottom of the hourglass than in the top.
Shall We Gather at the creek… the
setting was perfect, a cool fall day, blue sky, the background sounds of the stream
flowing by and the breeze in the towering trees, the warmth of a campfire to
gather around. Kay would love it, I could imagine her there watching over us
and smiling, especially when she saw so many of us in Tennessee Orange in her
honor (thanks Michelle for that idea!).
It is nice having a resident
clergy in the family, Heidi did an excellent job honoring Kay, leading us in
the old songs, telling stories of her namesake and aunt Kay. Sue read a letter
from Kay to her Daddy. Ethan reminded us Kay was not just the cat lady but had
strong beliefs in other areas including working with the underprivileged and politics. The family then climbed up to the Upper Falls to scatter Kay's ashes in one of her favorite places on Turkey Creek, happy memories shared of eating watermelon in the creek and sliding down the falls.
During the service, the occasional baby cry served as
a reminder that although we lost one, life goes on. Just look around and you
will see the future of this family, the babies being passed around between
aunts and uncles and grandparents, and the little ones gathered around the
campfire and playing in the creek.
A live well lived, Kay is gone from our sight but not our hearts, we will miss her dearly. Hopefully she is now free of her ailments and can visit with all of those gone before her - her mother and daddy, two-mama, hey maybe she will get to meet Pat Summitt!
