Sunday, October 16, 2011

quiet living amongst the dead

We attended a viewing for family of family and took our nieces, who had been at the funeral home all day, out for dinner with our kids. 
Just beyond the doors of the funeral home, the city was hosting a School of Rock concert. 
There was no way you could miss the music. 
The kids, all under the age of 9, were enthralled and stopped on the sidewalk to stare.

Once we started walking again, one of the kids said:
"they really shouldn't have a rock concert tonight outside the funeral home."

{Why do you say that?} I ask

"Because someone has died and rock music doesn't respect everyone's sadness."

We continued on and talked about the role and power of music to help people cope with grief.
How sometimes rock music or even heavy metal music or a genre of music that feels to us as 
"too much" might help someone else feel less sad.  
And then we arrived to our destination.

But I was thinking more about our conversation.
{imagine that}
About the accuracy of her statement.
Because the music did feel a little bit inappropriate as we walked out from 
the quiet living taking place amongst the dead.
But it also served as permission to take our dinner to the playground to play.
And felt, in some way, a tribute to a life well-lived.

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