On Tuesday, my family and I attended the funeral of one of my favorite uncles, William Melvin Glover Jr. I really appreciated the time I got to spend with my family, catching up and reminiscing about my Uncle Bill. I loved hearing my cousins telling everyone stories of their childhood that illustrated just how funny, intelligent, loving, and caring a person my uncle truly was. Exactly the kind of parent, and person in general, that I admire and strive to be. I was glad to have gotten to know this man and to have him in my life.

It really got me thinking, though, about loss and about getting to know people. I remember in my teens attending a funeral in which I learned more about the person (another family member) than I had ever known about them during their lifetime. I remember how absolutely devastated I was that I had not taken the time to get to know my family member while she was alive. She had done so many things and had so many interesting stories that I wished I could have learned from her and not from the people who had taken the time to get to know her. If there was anything to learn from the experience, it was simply to involve myself in the lives of the people I care about so that when they passed away, I could say that I knew them well.

I did not take pictures at my uncle’s funeral. I felt that it was important that I be completely present with my family during this time, so I chose not to have my phone on me. However, I did get this one snapshot of my daughter in her dress before we left.