A Celebration of Life

Today, we’re traveling back to Alabama for a Celebration of Life for my mother, who passed away last month. It’s just another reason 2020 has totally sucked, but I can’t stop thinking of those words – Celebration of Life. They definitely sound better than funeral or memorial, which hold some depressing undertones. They bring to mind a party of things that have happened in our lives. It brings thoughts of laughter as stories are shared around a table or a fire, holding a drink in hand, and letting everyone take a turn with the memories that mean the most to them, snapshots from my mother’s life.

My parents have always been active in our lives. They even helped put the furniture together in our new school when it showed up the day before school was to start. They’ve never missed a baseball game or choir concert, never missed a performance of a play or hesitated to take us on trips. We weren’t the richest family, but we had a ton of things money can’t buy. My mother is the one who really gave me my love for Disney, always heading to the theme park when life became too stressful just to escape for a few hours. At times, I do that myself, and I can’t help but think of the many times I went to the park with my mother.

As I’m traveling, I’m sad that she’s no longer a phone call away, but also glad she’s out of pain. I’ll miss her random texts or her too-early phone calls, knowing I sleep in most days. I’d love to be woken up one more time with her voice asking why I’m still sleeping. We’re going to go have a drink with my dad, the girls and I, and the boys and their partners. We’re going to raise a glass and smile, and we’re going to share story after story until our throats are sore and our voices hoarse from the talking. We’ll laugh. And we’ll cry. But, most of all, we’ll remember.

Tomorrow is never promised to anyone, and 2020 has definitely taught us all that. So, I urge you to make the most of each second of each minute of each hour of each day. Go for your dreams. Risk failure. Strive to succeed. But most of all, laugh and love and live. To you, I raise a glass, hoping this day finds you in the midst of something wonderful. Take a moment to enjoy. Celebrate! And allow others to celebrate with you.

Wishing you the best,

Robbie Cox