As I stared in fascination at a photograph of an antique cradle, I was struck by how closely it resembled a coffin. I then learned that the word “coffin” has its origin in an Old French word “cofin” (basket or cradle). Indeed, in its modern French form “couffin” means cradle.

It is as though people once grasped how little stood between the cradle and the grave.

How cozy it is to imagine that I will someday rest peacefully in my lidded cradle!