The hardest part

Of all the difficult things that come with being a Peace Corps Volunteer the most difficult is being away from home in times of grief. Of the 37 people who swore in with me this past August one has lost a friend, 2 have lost a grandparent and now I have lost an Uncle. As volunteers we are only permitted bereavement leave upon the death of either a child, grandchild, parent or sibling.
It is hard to be away from those you love in times like these. Tonight I morn alone, but in my heart I know that my Uncle now rests in the Summer Lands waiting to be reborn. He will always be remembered for who he was. My Uncle was a man, neither good or bad, just a man. He loved life and did his best to live well. His faults we the faults of all men, his heart may have been too large at times and too small at others . The important thing is to remember people as they truly were not how we wished them to be.
It is my firm belief that funerals are for the living, the dead have moved on. So I remind you all, even if you can not be there when a loved one leaves this earth, you can morn alone and the dead will here you because for them all life's boundaries are gone.
To my Uncle Chuck may the powers lead you the Summer Land where rest awaits you before you can begin again.
Charles Edward Dodson Jr October 15 1928-December 18 2009