Living beyond your means
I dreamed last night that we were on a plane, then in a car, then on a boat, headed for a house on the beach. When we finally got there, we went out to the deck and walked towards the water. My two uncles walked up with pinched foreheads and I walked quickly over to find out what was wrong and my mother was behind them. They said she was concerned because she had a picture of me hanging upside down off the deck (read: enjoying myself) and my sister was giving her flack because my father had just died. I went to her and said, mom it’s okay to enjoy life, I give you full permission to do so. And her worried face suddenly relaxed. It was an interesting dream because in reality when my father died, it was me who was hell bent on mourning him properly during shiva and taking care of my mother, while my sister was out in the Quarter getting my father’s windshield smashed in because she left it parked somewhere it shouldn’t have been.
But the message was loud and clear – life is for the living – and though there are times to grieve, life should be a celebration as often as possible.