When the House Burns * A Celebration of Life

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KayLee's Trail

By KayLee Armstrong

I received a call at work from my friends Cindy and Patricia. They had tracked me down after over a year since our last visit. Their voices were cheerful but they were not calling with good news or an invitation for a little chat. The news was that their house had caught on fire the previous week and disrupted their lives. They talked with happy voices yet I just about cried when I heard about the devastation.

The saddest part of the whole ordeal was that they lost their beloved pets in the inferno. Three dogs, two cats, and a cockatiel. Actually Cindy and Patricia tracked me down at work to ask me about bird breeders in the area. They ran across my business card in a box that was being sorted through and gave me a call. The temporary residence in the apartment over the garage on the back of the lot was too quiet. They missed their noisy unconditional loving pets. Even though they themselves were safe and thankful that they still had each other their animal soul mates were gone. I was not familiar with the species of parrot that they were looking for but offered to deliver some cockatiels to help them out. They graciously accepted.

Cindy and Patricia were tired of talking about the fire and the loss of material possessions. Patricia took on the roll of therapist while I was visiting and took a little time to console an elderly neighbor. "We are tired of talking about it. Tell us about your writing KayLee." They were very excited about my articles and poetry that were published in Womyn's Words. They seemed to devour the diversion from the tragedy they just experienced. I was pleased that several sweet little Cockatiels were available to bring some melody back into their home.

Before I left they walked me through the house with a flashlight. The smell of smoke drifted from the house and was stronger as we stepped inside. The fire was concentrated in the kitchen yet the heat melted plastic in ever-other room. Ash form the fire covered everything. Some things could still be salvaged yet it was a total loss. It was heart wrenching when Patricia pointed out where one of the "girls" died. Very affectionately she refereed to the dogs and cat as "The Girls." Imprints of their bodies were baked onto the floor. I could not image scooping the bodies of my animal friends from the debris. Cindy and Patricia missed their animal soul mates and realized that the material things that were still salvageable were meaning less. Their grieving process started that afternoon when they made a trip to the crematorium and they realized what really mattered was gone.

Ten days later: A Celebration of Life

Instead of wallowing in misery over the misfortune, a celebration was held. A Celebration of Life combined with a memorial service for the lost pets and a birthday cake for a friend. They planned a day to celebrate life in the form of a 'salvage picnic' you might call it. They invited friends in to help them inventory the loss and take some of the salvageable items before the wrecking crew arrived. It was sort of a therapeutic day as much for the friends and neighbors as it was for Cindy and Patricia.

When I arrived there were boxes of books and miscellaneous items laid out in the yard on tarps. A group of friends were inventorying a collection of pocketknives, baseball cards, books, and as small box of jewelry. Several friends painstakingly inventory ever item in the house. The office, the farthest room from the fire seemed to be hit the worst with soot. The computer and all the desk stuff were a total loss covered in grimy soot. Inventorying this room took forever.

I looked at the group of people, all very dear friends of Cindy and Patricia. No one was shedding any tears over the ordeal. Most took on the inventory job in earnest. I am sure that Cindy and Patricia were crying in their hearts but in place of the tears were smiles. They told of the horror in sincerity only to turn it into a joke and make everyone laugh. I saw two very strong people holding on to a piece of paper with a drawing of a house. It was something tangible to hold onto as well as the loving hugs from all their friends. Their tears they cried in private.

Please don't wait for the house to burn to celebrate life. Hug your friends and tell them how much you love them. Treat your pets with something special, for they may not be with us tomorrow. Give away some of you material possessions before they are covered with soot. When the soot of daily live starts to bog you down, call your friends and plan a picnic and Celebrate Life.

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"Your Home is not in a building. It's in the heart of yourself and freinds."

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