It's been one month, almost to the minute, since Ashes died.
It's also been five years since Douglas Adams died, a year and a day since Haley and I went for a morning walk under a sun pillar, and a year and three days since I took this picture of my father. In eleven days it will be a year since my uncle died, and in twelve days it will be a year since Haley's death. In thirteen days it will be nine months since my father died.
It doesn't end there. Another of my uncles, who took a sharp turn for the worse at the end of last August, is not expected to live much longer.
And a friend's cat just died yesterday after a bout with cancer.
It never ends. So long as life goes on, so too will death.
The narcissistic primarily autobiographical blog of the pseudonymous d.b. echo
As it was explained to me as a child. Death is a part of life.
ReplyDeleteYou've had quite a run of stuff to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI've been mulling the topic of death (and IB Bill had his suicide post today). I wish I had some words of wisdom on the topic that would make things more tolerable. Deaths tend to be memorable even after the pain goes away and I've rarely found that the lessons learned live up to their cost. Worse yet, we remember the deaths of our love ones long after everyone around us has forgotten. I guess that dealing with death does teach us lessons and sometimes other's deaths put our lives in new perspective.
In any event, I hope that you have a few years soon without any more significant losses.
Super G
PS Was that a picture of you with a mullet?
In part what's going on is a consequence of my parents not having kids until they were in their late 30's. Now their generation is in its seventies, and I am watching them die one by one. And as for pets - hell, if long life were the only consideration, I'd get a turtle.
ReplyDeleteRereading that post reminds me of the conclusion of the final episode of Six Feet Under, where we see the future deaths of all of the characters, one after another after another, all while Sia's amazing "Breathe Me" plays. I get goosebumps just thinking about it, and I didn't even follow that show.
Yep, I had a mullet in college, though I never heard that term until a few years ago. Back then we called it "wrestler's hair", because wrestlers in High School weren't allowed to have their hair below the collar - so we would all grow our hair so it would just touch our collars. We would have a pair of scissors available for emergency trims at every match. In-between seasons everybody would let it grow long. I just decided to keep the hair through college, and let it grow long and curly. I didn't actually cut it off until January 1998.
Harold, I too cannot hear Breathe me without getting the chills.
ReplyDeleteI picture you and I watching it together for the first time and I think back.
As a group, we have had so many losses. I am greiving with both you and Lorena. As I said to Lorena yesterday, it is these milestones that cement longtime friendships. "You held me when I cried"
Thanks you for mentioning my Muldie cat. I'm sure he and Ashes are sharing some catnip and tuna juice and tiny pieces of fresh turkey breast while they wait for us. Mulder's kidney cancer had spread to his bone marrow and his red blood cell count was halfing itself in just two days, by Wednesday he just didn't have enough red blood cells to keep his organs functioning and I let him go to heaven a day early while the trip would be peaceful instead of turbulent. I miss him terribly. Thank you again for including him.
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