"Celebrating Life" by Ginny Foard

 – They stared at me in shock.

“Oh, no! Not that kind of a barbeque.”

Growing up in the South means learning life lessons from family stories. Ginny Foard learned a few things that way. She also found out that later you get to tell stories, too. Depending on who’s in the room with you, you might need a few hours to get to the bottom of what all happened. Ginny likes exploring, sharing, and listening to the stories around her. She lives in a little post office box on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.

 Author’s Talk

Ginny Foard (self portrait, water-soluble markers)

Sometimes, I’d rather not talk about that (whatever ‘that’ is). Why do we avoid talking about certain topics? There are lots of reasons. 

When it comes to planning your own memorial service, it’s hard to face, or perhaps it’s simply inconceivable in the moment. I have been fortunate to have loved ones wise enough to initiate those conversations and to invite engaging discussions about them. They laid the groundwork for whatever was to come. It was a way of gently easing into a future that no one wanted. Those discussions rippled down to younger folk, inviting more talks and plans about uncomfortable inevitabilities. 

This “Celebrating Life” story shares that scary things can be a good thing to talk about. For some folk, it might be easier to do it sooner, rather than later. 

I hope you enjoy the story.—Ginny Foard