Last Tuesday, my family and I buried our father. He has fought Alzheimer’s for the past 10 years, and succumb to a heart attack with a stroke to follow. The moments around his death have been among the most beautiful times in my life. Not only has the community shown up in support for my father, on his last send off, but they have financially contributed to the expenses surround the funeral. My family and I are eternally grateful for all the assistance people have given us. This life event also connected us with our living relatives in Russia, which our father hardly talked about (on his side). We have been in close contact over the past few weeks. At the service and on social networking sites, I have been reacquainted with friends from long past, from my childhood, those that I have not seen or heard from in many years. This is so amazing to see how they are doing in their lives. We were recollecting the times when we were growing up, being little children, and looking at where we are now, adults with lives of our own. Of the most amazing parts in my personal life, was the ability to drive down the day my father had the heart attack and spend the night with him at the hospital. He was mostly asleep and unconscious. Yet, in the morning, there was a window in time where he woke up and was lucid. I recognized it and took the opportunity to clear our misunderstandings and past grievances. We both cried, he apologized and I apologized for how we behaved throughout our journey together. He stated that all he wanted was that his wife (mom) and his kids be happy. Soon after he fell back asleep, and that was my last conversation with my father. A week and a half later he passes away. Although death is objectively a negative energy or thing, so much positive events have occurred during this time! My family members and I got closure from dad, we got to see people from the past, and got to start opening the channels of communication with relatives from afar. Love yourself and love your family. No matter how much you disagree and bicker about things, when put in the lens of death in front of you, all washes away and the best for others is what one wants. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6He81QJolm/?igshid=13iyqtuw693hy