Don't Be Fooled APRIL 2022

APRIL NEWS LETTER FROM THE HEART

APRIL NEWSLETTER

NEWS PROVIDED BY: Lankford Funeral Home April 9th , 2022

While we know the true meanings of events that have occurred in April, I bet you didn’t know that April is the best month to watch meteor showers. How wonderful to stop engaging with technology and take a walk in the fresh air looking up at all that was created and view an event such as this! Now, you might have to take a few nights out to capture this, but the show could be well worth your time.

The month of April gives us April 1st or April Fools Day as if we needed a whole day to prove that!

There are two zodiac signs in April. Aries, who is until April 19th, and Taurus, which is April 20th and onwards.

My Dad was a Taurus and that sure explains a lot!!

The etymology behind the word “April comes from the verb “aperire,” which means “to open.” It’s commonly believed that the word refers to the season that trees and flowers begin to “open” or bloom.

As we must be open and present in life, we must also be open and present in the process of a loved one or a friend dying. Regardless of one's beliefs about the afterlife, there is something comforting and revitalizing about opening a window for that certain loved one after he or she has died. It's a gesture of letting go, but also letting in, bringing in the fresh air from the outside world and the promise of another day. This was and still is a Scandinavian tradition.

Grief is a bundle of quite complex negative emotions. It is a bit like darkness inside. It needs to be let out—it needs to be expressed in whatever way is appropriate to our own personality and temperament when the time comes. When grief comes upon us, as surely it will (and probably it will come a number of times) during our lifetime, we need to open the door, and keep the door open for long enough for the grief (the darkness) to get out. Sometimes we may need someone to open the door for us and to hold it open. For various reasons, it is sometimes difficult to open the door, and sometimes the door keeps trying to close itself.

It is said that dogs only live in that moment and when grief strikes, we too should take a lesson from our furry friends! Allow your door to be held open, to let the grief go out and fresh air come in.

May you be blessed in all the month of April offers and remember, aspire to inspire before we expire!

Cheryl Lankford

Funeral Director

Lankford Funeral Home