Keep Your Fork

(Again, blogging quickly before I get caught not napping!)

As my husband makes the preparations for Sunday dinner, I am reminded of the "keep your fork" story. (Pause for the collective groan of family members who hear it practically every time we have Sunday dinner with guests...)

As the story goes, a woman is dying and she decides to make final arrangements with her clergyman. As they finish discussing the details of her funeral and burial, the clergyman asks her if there was anything else. "Yes," she said, "I would like to be buried with a fork in my hand."

Seeing the clergyman's puzzled look, she went on to explain: "One of my favorite things is going to church picnics and dinners. And when people finish eating and the dishes are being taken away, I always love it when they say, 'keep your fork'. It reminds me that it's not over, and there is more to look forward to," referring to dessert. "I want to keep my fork, because when I die, it's not over, and there is more to look forward to." And she's right. Death is not the end. There is more to look forward to when we pass from this life.

I'm hoping and praying for a miracle to live as long as I can. Meanwhile, I did tell my husband that if and when I go, I want to be buried with a fork in my hand, too!