In december 2014, i brought my son to my grand-mother’s funeral and then i wrote this post.
In the fall of 2015, i brought again my son to a very sad funeral celebrating the life of Romain Lemieux, our little neighbor, and i organized a lantern ceremony in his memory.
Today, me, my son and the rest of my family came together to say good bye to my vietnamese grand mother Ngoc Thi Tuy Tran. It was a beautiful buddhist ceremony, the first one i attended. And it ended in a beautiful moment, we all gave her one last flower…
I am happy to have been able to be with my son during these celebrations of life. I am also grateful for the presence my family and friends in these times.
In my life, whenever i am in contact with grief and loss, i can still find beauty. This is my gift: I can smile through the sorrow.
Today, I am proud of my vietnamese heritage.
I am proud of this vietnamese family that was reunited by our ancestor’s death.
I now realize that these moments, they are precious.
They are about togetherness and family ties.
They are about finding meaning in loss and grief.
They are about celebrating life.
Thank you.
Martin Pham Dinh 