My mother does not call very often. She's just not a big phone person. So when she does, I can usually count on it being bad news from home. Usually, someone has died.
This time wasn't any different.
The man who has died was in his mid-50s. He had a wife, for whom I used to work and who I like very much. They had four children, between the ages of 17 and 10, for whom I babysat not all that many summers ago. I taught his oldest daughter to read. She just graduated from high school, and a few weeks after her graduation, her father was dead.
There are no words for that kind of grief.
Suddenly, all of the things I have been so distraught about are so very small.
Comments (2)
Oh, Grace, I'm so sorry. I hate those kinds of calls, and I hate facing what they convey even more. Take care. I'm sending prayers in a northwesterly direction tonight--and some your way too.
Posted by Siobhan | June 28, 2005 1:06 AM
Shit. I just asked my dad about him last weekend. What a terrible, terrible thing for him and his family to go through. In situations like these, being atheist and aspiritual, I'm always at a loss for what to say. I can't say I'll pray for them, and I can't even say I'll send positive energy their way, yet, essentially, I do something along the same lines (stop for a moment to think about them). Saying, "I'll think about you really hard" just doesn't have the same effect. I have yet to find a good way to adequately express my sympathies.
Posted by Scand79 | June 28, 2005 10:57 AM