Every life, no matter how short, endures as long as it is remembered.

That Once Occupied Space

The vacant chair at the table is not empty, nor is the vacant space around the Christmas Tree, the omission in family pictures, the date on the calendar that was always marked as a birthday. Those spaces are filled with memories, longing, and perhaps even regret. Most of all, however, they are filled with love. There is comfort because the space will always be there, with love, delightful memories, and great appreciation for the short life that was once in those spaces.
The title of this blog is the name of an old song that was written at the beginning of the Civil War. The Vacant Chair, written by George F. Root in 1861 can be found on the website "Civil War Talk."

We shall meet but we shall miss him. — There will be one vacant chair. — We shall linger to caress him —While we breathe our ev'ning prayer.
When one year ago we gathered, — Joy was in his mild blue eye. — Now the golden cord is severed, — And our hopes in ruin lie.
CHORUS:
We shall meet, but we shall miss him. — There will be one vacant chair. — We shall linger to caress him — While we breathe our ev'ning prayer.

Verses two and three are also included on the site listed above, and they refer to the death of a young man on the battle field. You can search YouTube to find recordings of the song with its common melody. The most clearly and beautifully simple version is this Tennessee Ernie Ford rendition.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Grief Without Judgement

These two beautiful ladies are each over 90 years old and are grieving their children, a married couple in their 60's. Although I wanted to blur their faces more to protect privacy and could not with my current aps, the photo depicts an important message. The loss of a child, even one over the age of 55, represents undue sadness. The grief is wrenching and deep. We should never judge the depth of grief by the age of the child that died, whether an infant, child, teen, young adult, parent, or grandparent.
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