The Dress

Not thinking about it, the dress I chose to wear to the funeral was black and covered with small dragonfly designs. I chose to wear it because it was quick, easy, and I could sling on a black jacket to match.

I sat alone during the catholic service and followed the liturgy and recitations as best as I knew how. The service was traditional and subdued; it calmed and comforted those who attended. Especially soothing was the young musician who reminded me of John Michael Talbot.

After the service, a lady sitting behind me smiled and asked if I liked dragonflies. I had forgotten what I was wearing.

Me: "Yes, I like dragonflies." My response was less than enthusiastic.

Lady (Judy): "I have a story about dragonflies."

Me: "Really?"

Judy looked around and realized everyone else was exiting the sanctuary. "It's a long story."

Me: "I love stories!"

Judy shared the story about Valerie, Don, and dragonflies. Don passed away, and it seems at every turn dragonflies were in the picture. Judy visited Valerie after Don passed and she kept hearing a loud ping at the window. First one window and then another. Judy asked what it was. Valerie, "It's Don." Hmmm.

Valerie and Don's daughter was expecting a baby, and unfortunately, Don passed before his grandchild was born. A ladybug crib set was on order for the nursery. When it arrived, guess what! It wasn't the ladybug motif, it was dragonflies. Believe it or not.

Valerie told Judy about a homily in which the priest shared the story of a dragonfly. As Judy assured me, the following story of the dragonfly was easy to find online (via http://www.Spiritual-Short-Stories.com)

"Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew.

So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!" - author unknown

I'm glad I wore my dragonfly dress that day.

Image via https://pixabay.com/en/dragonfly-hortensia-animals-nature-1692783/

[Carolyn Fjeran, LowTide explorer/reflective writer with a colloquial twist; horticulturist & gardener; former writer for Cooperative Extension Service, Master Gardeners, and The Newnan Times-Herald]