Our family, and perhaps much of the folks in our place, have that very close family and extended kinship ties. We still know our cousins up to that we might call “fourth cousins,” fourth degree of consanguinity!
(Memory and Tongue twisters: 1st cousins are my parent’s niece and nephews on their brothers and sisters. 2nd cousins are the offsprings of my parent’s first cousins.
3rd cousins are the children of my parent’s second cousins. 4th cousins are my what? And so on, and so forth.)
During gatherings, we have to “Bless” all our aunts and uncles and grandparents. “Bless” is a custom when we take the right hand of an elder and touch it on our forehead. An undying tradition in our place as a way of respect and recognition.
And since many of us stayed put in the town, maybe for life, we’re stuck with a lot of relatives here. Some who have relocated to places beyond the rustic town, the only way we see them are during extended family reunions, weddings, town fiestas, baptisms, and Holy Week, when they would uproot their families for a while and go home to visit their relatives- us who were left behind and staying put!
I’m pulling this kinship thing because us relatives are consoling our young lady lawyer first cousin grieving at the moment at the loss of her 35 year-old hubby who has crossed over to a different unreachable dimension Wednesday midnight, 11th of this month. This is another opportunity where we see a lot of our kins, known and unknown, young and old, gather.
Can flowers heal a grieving heart, or the presence of relatives enough to console the loss? This is the world we live in, a sharp contrast to yours.
Thank you for hosting Luiz, Denise, Laerte, Valkyrien. See more flowers here: Today’s Flowers
- The Full Trivia on Peñafrancia, and Then Some - August 28, 2024
- Colgante Bridge Downfall Fatalities and New Beginnings - November 21, 2023
- The Sorrows and Pains of Colgante Bridge Downfall - November 21, 2023
Sorry to hear about sad news. Yes flowers can heal the grief, my Mom’s favorite flower is yellow rose and everytime I see them it reminds me of her and I feel that she’s always there beside me to guide us. I always buy them and keep a dozen often.
My heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences on your great loss. What a young age! Beautiful flower and words.
Deepest sympathy to you and your family. The flowers are very beautiful. He certainly was very young to pass on
It is always sad to have a reunion for a funeral rather than a christening. It is saddest when a young person in the prime of life returns home. My condolences to you whole family.
I love the thought of that ritualised respect. Our culture has lost so much of it.
Consanguinity – lovely word but sad news for your cousin.
Flowers do help, go plant a real one or better still a fruit tree if you can.
I am so sorry to read this – many good wishes and strength to your family. i do believe flowers and growing plants can help heal. xx
I am so sorry for you loss. 35 is so very young…
A great flower arrangement here Japa. Roses are sweet.
a gift for the eyes
Lovely flowers you have and it’s a gift for the eyes.
flowers expresses what words cannot say. awesome shot. thanks for sharing. 🙂
awesome! mine is up. God Bless!!
Nothing can heal a grieving heart. It seals over or heals itself in time. Maybe friends and relatives can help it not fester of get worse.
Lucy
Lovely flowers for a wonderful mother. She always will be with you in your heart and life.
Wonderful composition of flowers!
About your question on my post: yes, people are against the TAV because they fear it will spoil the environment which is very green and full of ancient villages.
Happy new week!
I am so sorry for this loss. My deepest sympathies. The flowers are lovely and I thank you for sharing them at this time.
Very nice! Your post reminded me of my own sense of community growing up in Applachia at a time when few old residents left and few new residents came in. Like you, I grew up in a close family with almost-daily contact with 4th cousins, Great Aunts & Uncles, and other extended relatives. What a close, warm world that was. Looking back, I wonder how I ended up thousands of miles from home…
You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers in this time of loss. The flowers are lovely and your post reminds me that a dear friend gave me a lovely white Azalea plant when my mom died more than 20 years ago. It still survives in my yard and reminds me of both my mother and my dear friend 😉
Hugs and blessings,
Sigh – For some reason, you blog doesn’t want to accept my Happily Retired Gal ID, so I’m logging in with my Blogger account instead.