life cycle events

Life and death are events every culture honors in distinct and important ways. They are the two most sacred of all the life cycle events. And they bring families together.

Most of us are so afraid of death that we prefer not to speak of it, much less look at pictures associated with it. Birth, on the other hand, is quite a different story.

Happily, there will soon be pictures of a newborn baby on this blog, along with star struck little cousins, piles of diapers, soft chubby folds of skin and a couple of sleepy but happy parents.

Today, though, I wanted to share the pictures of my family when we were together for that other important life cycle event. These were made five years ago at the time my mother died.

Death and birth and death and birth. And family. That's what's on my mind this morning.



















Now, let's bring on this baby. My mother would have loved nothing more.