Many people I know died this year. Some of them are better off. Some of them were taken untimely. Some of them decided they couldn't take it anymore. All of them hurt someone in some way. After we buried the last of my grandparents this spring, my sister appropriately opined that 2015 sucks. I am eager for this year to die.
It seems like it's not just limited to my own family. Several students tell me they had a rough year as well. One had to identify her best friend's body. Another lost her mother. Some of those we know who lost were friends. My sister reports that someone semi close to her killed themself this year. My best friend from high school lost his father. My supervisor on Mt. Charleston is going home the first weekend in December to bury her grandmother. One of the regular people we know from the mountain buried a dog. It seems that loss and death is all around us.
Last night, just before I fell asleep, my best friend called me because his dad just died. He lost both of his parents this year, and it looks like I'm headed to another funeral this weekend. I arrived shortly before the first of his family, which was actually his youngest sister in law, who asked him "Are you ok?" He interestingly said, "I have to be." THere is work to do, and there is life to live, and there is nothing to do that can change things. There really is no other option worth taking when people die except to keep going. Other people did it. THey did it when their parents, friends, and loved ones passed. We remember the dead. We remember the good times. We remember laughing, crying, smiling, and loving. We remember them because they mean something to us.
Although they say that only the good die young, I feel very strongly that God may be calling some of His best home. My best friend's father was a renown and brilliant engineer. He played a major role in the development of radar and AWACs. My grandfather was a respected pharmacist. As we see the world increase in turmoil, it would not surprise me to learn that God called them home in order to spare them the pains of having to watch what they built fall apart around them.
The most important thing is family. It's why I talk about it incessantly on this blog and bother God in almost every prayer I utter. Life is richer when you share it. We are almost upon the holiday season, which is about gatherings with friends and family, loved ones, golden ones, and golden days. My best friend will have his family around for Thanksgiving at least, and I spoke with a few people I know who are far from home this season to make sure they weren't alone. Well do I remember my first Thanksgiving when I did not have family- I ate in a Pakistani restaurant in Linz, Austria. Of course everyone assures me they are fine, and I can't force them to find berth, but I offered. When I was alone sometimes people offered that to me, and so the holidays were full of life for me because of them.
If you mean something to me or ever did, may your holidays be merry. Know that I love you still in whatever ways are appropriate. Remember that in dark times there are also things of beauty and peace.
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