Saying Good-Bye To Goodly Parents...

I attended a viewing this morning, a viewing for one of the first people I knew from "Old Farmington." Those of us form Old Farmington know what that means. Our family moved to the town in 1970, newer than some, older than most.

Old Farmington now only exists in our memories.

Nelda was the wife of our first bishop and the mother of a childhood friend. In these later years, she was so kind to come up to me at church and ask how I was doing. We'd talk about this and that, and she'd always arrive and leave with a smile. I found out earlier in the week she had passed. It made me sad.

Another parent of a friend is no longer with us.

Unfortunately, it's happening--and will continue to happen--more and more, until none of my friend's parents will be here. The price of getting old, I suppose.

I will always associate the Oakesons with Farmington. In my mind, they can't be separated. We grew up, attended school, attended church in Farmington, and even though so many moved away and were replaced by others, many will always be residents of Farmington. There was a time when I knew almost everyone that lived within a mile radius of our house, and if I didn't know them personally, I knew of them. It's such a great place to live that many remained, so much so that one of the only ways to buy a house in the old part of town is to wait until people die. It sounds crazy, but in many ways, it's true.

My father passed away when I was eight years old. I had friends being raised by single parents--mostly due to divorce. I don't remember a lot of kids who had a parent die. My mother (who was seven months younger than Nelda...) passed away almost thirteen years ago. I'm now left to watch friends go through what I went through. I know the experience of losing a parent is different for everyone, but there are some things I know they'll face, feelings they'll have, emotions they'll need to experience. It's not that I have a ton of wisdom, but I do know about that.

I am glad many of my friends still have the chance to call and talk to their parents, or go and visit them for holidays or to drop in just because. It's a blessing they still get to have to be able to take their children to visit the children's grandparents. Today, a wonderful family gathered in a church to say good-bye, the same church where we did the same thing for both my parents. It's an important day, a sad day, but also a day of release, of joy. It's a day another part of Old Farmington will forever exist in our memories.