I Suck At Funerals

yesterday, my son (braden michael) was finally laid to rest at the cemetery.

i suck at funerals. prior to yesterday, i had been fortunate enough to never attend a funeral. it is almost unfair that the first funeral i attend is for the burial of my son. although, i suppose conversely... having my son be my first at anything... even if it is a funeral... is somewhat comforting. after all, i had so many plans to experience my "firsts" with braden. (i even avoided changing any diapers because i wanted braden to be the one whose diaper i first changed.)

anyway, i could not have asked for a better day to bury my son, braden. mother nature was even kind enough to cooperate and provide sunny weather for the event. i know i have no frame of reference in comparing funeral services as this was my first, but i think the funeral services for braden were well done.

i, personally, was lucky enough to read a poem at the braden's service. it was a poem titled "god, take this child..." by nancy scott and the poem seemed to express how both karen and i felt with the passing of braden. for me, there is one line in the poem that sticks out in my head. the line goes: "we tried so hard to save you; nothing could be done." every time i read that line, i think of the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital and all of their efforts for little braden.

it's unfortunate braden had to pass. based on the turnout at the service, braden would have met so many people in the world who cared so deeply about him. i know i don't say it enough... but thank you everyone. from the priest at st. ann's church, to the funeral service representative (barbara), to the cemetery committee representative (gertrude), to the neonatal intensive care unit who attended, to past and current coworkers, to all of our friends and family... thank you for making braden's service truly special.