How to Break the News?

M passed away today. She was a long time friend of the family and DH and I are so very sad. I know she is no longer in pain, and that must bring her family comfort, but I still grieve for them.

She was also employed at Number One Son's and Queenie's school. DH and I are wondering how on earth to tell the kids. We found out about her death right at bedtime tonight, so we definitely knew that telling them tonight was out of the question. I am not really sure how they will handle it at school tomorrow, so we are actually thinking we might should tell the kids in the morning before school. I just want the news to come from us. I just don't know...

I'm on my way to go tuck all three of them in bed one more time and give them big hugs. Hugs to you all, too.

Hugs Today

My friend, Lois, lost her husband over the holidays. She's a good bit older than me and he had been sick for a while, but it was still very sudden.

It was Christmas Eve and they were visiting her sister. They were all laughing and chatting when suddenly he just fell over into his plate. He never regained consciousness and they unplugged his ventilator on Thursday. He died 45 minutes later.

I cannot imagine. The loss of a loved one is traumatic, no matter what time of year, but to lose someone at Christmas or any other memorable holiday is so very sad. What a way to remember each year.

Lois is a strong woman and I know she'll be alright. She has a strong faith. I know it gives her comfort to know that he was smiling and laughing up until the moment he basically died. But my heart hurts for her.

I feel like an especially bad friend because I missed the funeral this morning. Remember, I said DH let me sleep in this morning? I plan on visiting with her soon, and I probably shouldn't have gone anyway, feeling as badly as I have felt this past couple of weeks.

Give your family & friends hugs & kisses & tell them all how much they mean to you. You never know what tomorrow brings, but you know you have this moment, today.

XOXO

Touched Lives

When you are a part of a circle of friends you are touched by whatever touches the lives of those in your circle. The larger your circle becomes, more life events touch yours.
In our circle of friends, we have been touched by new love, old love, births, illness & death. We have celebrated, prayed, and mourned with our friends. And our friends have celebrated, prayed and mourned with us.
The illness part is what is really on my mind at the moment. Our lives have been touched by cancer a lot in the past few years. I used to think it was odd how often cancer had touched our lives in some way or another, but then I realized, as I said earlier, it was because our circle had expanded so.
Of course, we have probably all someone to sickness or possibly a tragic event. Death is hard, no matter who it is, how old they were or what happened. But when it is a "younger" person, seemingly with a lifetime ahead of them, it seems even more tragic.

Of course, cancer isn't a death sentence; it is often a second chance at life. A chance to re-evaluate what is important and a chance to get reacquainted with the special relationships in your life, the human ones and the spiritual one.

DH had a cancer scare about 3 years ago and it brought about some rearranging of priorities for our family. I can remember thinking, "How in the world do people who don't have a relationship with Christ, or even for that matter believe in God, get through something like this?" That's another blog for another day, however. About the same time this was happening to DH, 2 of his college buddies were diagnosed with cancer. The Cute One (affectionately named so by one of my bridesmaids) has been in remission for 2 years and E lost his battle last year. Uncle B recently had successful surgery to remove his cancer and M has recurring lymphoma which we continue to pray about. And I recently had my first mammogram (see Breast Cancer Awareness post) which was prompted by the discovery of a lump.

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with a very aggressive Her2 positive breast cancer. Rosabella had a bilateral mastectomy and will begin her chemotherapy soon. She has been an inspiration to me. Did you hear that? To ME, I said. She has 2 young children, the same age as Number One Son & Queenie. And she is sending out humorous updates on her progress. I don't mean I smile and tilt my head to the side when I read them. I laugh out loud and shake. She's bringing sexy back to breast cancer treatment! I want to be bald too! You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

So, our circle is all the more rich for knowing E, continuing to pray for M, celebrating with Uncle B & The Cute One and for knowing, celebrating & praying for Rosabella.

My prayer is that your circle has only been touched by love & celebration, but the reality is, I know it hasn't. I do hope that you grab every opportunity to celebrate your love, celebrate your life, celebrate your family, celebrate your friends and celebrate your God. He has a plan and that circle is a part of it.