Kill that Lobster

Some people don't like wakes, they fear that people only attend to eat and drink and be merry at the dead person's expense.

Others - including me - are quite in favour of them. A funeral is to acknowledge death even though part of the ritual will be remembering the life of the person, but a wake is to cherish life. To remember the person in question in words, songs or pictures, to comfort each other, and to celebrate life as such.

At a recent wake we remembered, drank, talked, cried, laughed, hugged, smiled, comforted, were comforted, and definitely celebrated the life of a friend, and the privilege of having been part of it, with all our hearts. It was exactly the right thing to do, a memorable gathering of friends and family.

I also learned something new: to a Chinese person, "sláinte" sounds a bit like you were trying to say "kill that lobster" in Chinese...

Here's to you, Karin - kill that lobster!!!