Every Sunday we will meet and have dinner together. Most of the time someone will cook at their home but there are those lazy Sundays where no one feels like cooking and we end up at the closest restaurant. When I was younger I hated these dinners. I didn 't understand why we had to see one another every Sunday. Now that I’m a little older I appreciate the dinners and they are my favorite part of the week. I have come to understand the importance of family and how not everyone gets the opportunity to spend time with theirs as often as I do. The period of time that made me realize this was the deaths of my great-uncle Leon and my uncle Dan. Growing up I would see them during the holidays and at family barbecues but I was never especially close with them. I knew they were family and I would have conversations with them about school and the sports I was doing but they conversations never went past that. My father on the other hand was very close with the both of them. When they passed it effected him in a way I’ve never seen. My father is a very quiet but stern man. I’ve seen him laugh and I’ve seen him angry but to see him cry was a shock. In the Jamaican culture when someone passes we celebrate ‘Nine Nights’. For nine nights we go over to a family members house, usually the immediate family of the deceased, and we cook, play games and lastly tell stories. This was the first time I was able to fully understand what death meant. This was also my first times celebrating. ‘Nine Nights’ is not just a time to mourn the deceased but it is a time to be with the people that are still alive. To me, ‘Nine Nights’ makes the death of a loved one easier to handle. For nine nights family comes together and forgets the pain for a little bit. This time in my life made me realize the importance of family. I saw for those nine nights the love and support of
Every Sunday we will meet and have dinner together. Most of the time someone will cook at their home but there are those lazy Sundays where no one feels like cooking and we end up at the closest restaurant. When I was younger I hated these dinners. I didn 't understand why we had to see one another every Sunday. Now that I’m a little older I appreciate the dinners and they are my favorite part of the week. I have come to understand the importance of family and how not everyone gets the opportunity to spend time with theirs as often as I do. The period of time that made me realize this was the deaths of my great-uncle Leon and my uncle Dan. Growing up I would see them during the holidays and at family barbecues but I was never especially close with them. I knew they were family and I would have conversations with them about school and the sports I was doing but they conversations never went past that. My father on the other hand was very close with the both of them. When they passed it effected him in a way I’ve never seen. My father is a very quiet but stern man. I’ve seen him laugh and I’ve seen him angry but to see him cry was a shock. In the Jamaican culture when someone passes we celebrate ‘Nine Nights’. For nine nights we go over to a family members house, usually the immediate family of the deceased, and we cook, play games and lastly tell stories. This was the first time I was able to fully understand what death meant. This was also my first times celebrating. ‘Nine Nights’ is not just a time to mourn the deceased but it is a time to be with the people that are still alive. To me, ‘Nine Nights’ makes the death of a loved one easier to handle. For nine nights family comes together and forgets the pain for a little bit. This time in my life made me realize the importance of family. I saw for those nine nights the love and support of