So we went to Amy Lee's funeral in Atlanta Sunday afternoon -- me, Sisters S and K, and their husbands J and C. There were 600 people there, and it lasted almost two hours. Before the service, they showed pictures of her on a screen behind the altar -- in every one she was smiling. Her older brother Tim told us "16 Things About Amy" -- her way of saying "I love you," her hugs, her love of "every kind of cheese," her way of weedling back into his good graces when they'd had a dispute. Her friends and roommates submitted anecdotes read by the pastor. The whole service evoked her vividly, brought her to life.
We went to the reception and to the family's house afterwards. It was packed, and everybody talked talked talked and what's strange is that humor was such a part of it, even after the funeral of a 21-year-old college student. It's not just what Amy would've preferred, I'm sure, it's what you need to cope. It has happened at every funeral I've attended. The hard part, for her family, comes after everybody leaves.
The day before, Saturday, we ate breakfast at Fly Biscuit -- an avocado restaurant, you might say -- went to an outdoor book festival, saw a cooking demonstration, went to Victory, a trendy bar (heavily dosed popcorn), and watched the Michigan-Notre Dame football game at yet another bar. After the funeral, we made a 10:30 pm stop at a Korean restaurant for heavy appetizers. We are all in our 50s, and I'm older than that, and it was like we couldn't get enough. Life is short!
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| Message in a mirror (Sister S's house) |
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