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derli
I attended a funeral early this morning. A close friend to my family - she was only 50 years old, taken from us much too early by cancer. She is survived by a husband and two children.
What kind of strength does it take for a man to hold himself together through hours of sorrowful well-wishes from his wife’s friends, and to know that he is doing it alone? What kind of courage does it take for him to stand in front of his friends and talk about saying goodbye to his wife in her final hours? What kind of despair weighs on his heart, that he can sob openly for his loss?
An excerpt from his eulogy, translated from Chinese (but delivered much more beautifully in native language):
My most memorable moment from our courtship was when we climbed Yushan (Taiwan’s tallest mountain) together. We barely made it to the top, but I have a picture to prove that we made it. You were so tired and didn’t want to go any further, and I had to drag you to the top. I soldiered on, and as you clung to me, I thought to myself that I could be strong for both of us. I understood that I had found the person that I wanted to walk beside me for the rest of time.