Another Solemn Day in the Family

Today we solemnly gathered to say goodbye to another family member. We did it in typical Lien fashion with as few tears of sorrow as possible, but with lots of family, friends, food, drink and laughter. Especially laughter.

We said goodbye to a true fighter and one of the kindest souls to ever shine in my life. Though she lived a life with pretty much daily migraines, limited mobility and occasional seizures caused by scar tissue from multiple brain surgeries; you would be hard pressed to find a more positive person.

Nothing could stop her kindness, her sense of humor, her love for others, or her joy of life itself. Even in the last few weeks, after battling cancer, breaking a hip, and having a stroke, she still smiled and had that ever present sparkle in her eyes. I need to remember all of this the next time I want to whine about my bad shoulder or sore back. My aches and pains were nothing compared to her daily endurance that didn’t even hinder her from enjoying every minute of life.

Even after months & months of cancer taking its devastating toll on her already fragile body, whenever I asked her how she was the response was always “Great! How are you?” Nothing got in the way of her happiness. I need to remember that as well.

I am beyond blessed to be part of such a strong, close knit family. After retreating from the church to the stronghold of my parent’s home, the old Lien Farmstead founded by my great grandparents. The stiff shirts, ties & dresses were replaced by shorts & t-shirts (formalwear is not well tolerated by our family, nor is today’s 95+ degree heat) and the food, drink and laughter went into full power.

Tears of sorrow for our loss were quickly replaced by tears of laughter from our memories. While sadden we will no longer be able to make new memories with the one we lost, we will never forget her and how she touched all of our lives. Fortunately I and the rest of my goofy family will continue on to make more memories worthy to repeat the story of again for other family gatherings.

Hopefully the upcoming family gatherings will be in line of the annual camp out, birthdays, holidays and such. We've had enough funerals now to last us for quite a while.