Making Preparations

I’m sitting in the Magnolia Room, waiting for Holly. I’m here to buy a burial plot. No, I’m not sick, and I don’t plan to die soon, but since death is a sure thing, I’m hoping to make it a little easier for the family when my time comes to go.

It’s a gorgeous day. Sunny. Breezy. Warm. I’d rather be doing most anything else, but I’m here and Holly has arrived. As we head out to the golf cart for a tour of the cemetery, the wind is whipping my hair in all directions. A hat would have been nice, but I’m hatless today.

I don’t really need a tour of the cemetery. For fifteen years I worked a few miles down the road. During those years, I enjoyed countless lunches here, parked under shade trees, feeding French fries to the ducks. I even selected an area where I’d like to be buried one day. Back then, I had no idea that my dad would be buried here, but he is. It’s still a bit surreal. Now, here I am, looking for a plot of my own.

After selecting a plot—in the exact area I had hoped for—we return to the office and delve into the details of a funeral. I tell Holly I’m not looking for anything fancy. I got the plot I wanted, so whether or not my vault is top-of-the-line, or my casket is luxurious and plush, I really don’t care. When I hear that last trumpet sound, my vault and my casket are gonna break open, and I’m gonna break out. Spending a lot of money on something that’s going to be destroyed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye makes no sense to me. “Just show me the cheapest ones you’ve got,” I say. And she does.

An hour or so later, with signed paperwork in hand, I walk back out into the warm sunshine, truly grateful to be alive, but better prepared to be otherwise. As I drive toward home, I begin singing this old hymn:

There is coming a day

When no heartaches shall come

No more clouds in the sky

No more tears to dim the eye

All is peace forever more

On that happy golden shore

What a day, glorious day that will be

Until next time, dear friend, may you be grateful to be alive and make preparations to be otherwise.