There is never a good time to pass along the news of a death in the family, but I think it's worse when the death was wholly unexpected. I lost a cousin of mine last night. He was hit by a car while he was walking in Chicago. He survived the hit, but died at the hospital as a result of his injuries. Was he walking to or from home? Had he been with friends? Was his wife with him? I still don't know the answers to these questions, though I am sure the details will be filled in over time.
Even though my cousin was 16 years older than me, and I didn't know him as well as I would have liked (it's amazing what an age difference and distance can render in familial relationships), he was always armed with a smile and a funny story related to his life. I worry about my great aunt who was just settling from the loss of her husband two years ago, because no child should die before its parents.
As the news of my cousin's death settled on me, both an awareness of the tenuousness of life and the realization not to waste time hit me like a two-by-four to the face. Though most of us ignore it, it is true that there is no guarantee of tomorrow. What were my cousin's holiday plans? Was he going to come back to Virginia to be with the rest of the family, or was it going to be another Christmas in Chicago? What was going to happen at the next meeting at work he may have been preparing for?
I am both profoundly sad about this loss in my family and painfully aware that I do not say "I love you" enough. I hope that for the people who stop by this blog that they will take the time as soon as possible and give love to their loved ones, family, friends, whomever. Life really is too short, though living life can be a wondrous thing.
May my cousin rest in peace.
1 comment:
Free, my sympathies on the loss of your cousin.
A couple months ago I was in the hospital in critical condition. I was unconscious for almost 3 weeks at one stretch.
I remember nothing of that period, but later learned that almost everyone in my family, including distant relations I haven't seen in years, came to visit me during that time. A couple of them traveled over 1000 miles.
You say,
"I hope that for the people who stop by this blog that they will take the time as soon as possible and give love to their loved ones, family, friends, whomever. Life really is too short, though living life can be a wondrous thing."
Amen, Free.
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