Till death do us part...

A week ago I did a wedding. It was a beautifully normal wedding. Bride in white, sun shining, crying moms, and plenty of good eats. Vows, prayers, and limos. It was a wedding. 

A week later I watched a wife say goodbye to her husband of 54yrs. I imagined their wedding looked a lot like the wedding I had just done. Filled with smiles, laughs, and forever. They made their promises and rode off into the sunset.

Here they are...at the beginning. An entire life of adventures together right in front of them. Newness. Unknownness. Unbridled excitement.  Unable to stop smiling as they dance their first dance. Swept up in the emotions of forever. They have a million moments left...hand in hand they start the journey. 

And here they are...at the end. An entire life of adventures together behind them. They know each other totally. They've forgotten what life is without the other. They are swept up in the emotions of the end. They are dancing their last dance. Only a few moments remain...hand in hand one slips away. 

I stand in the middle. Trying bridge life and death with the people I live with. Praying for forever in one moment and the mercy of death the next. Makes waking up everyday all the more real. 

It's painfully beautiful at times...