Death and Dying

I've taken a couple of days off of my regular posts, and so much has happened that my head is swimming. I've been thinking about death a lot lately. When I was little, in second grade, my parents' best friends' little girl died of SIDS. She was 2 months and 2 days old, and as Julie approached that age, I thought about their little girl Rachel a lot. Part of me was afraid that Julie was going to die, which is semi-absurd. Just because one person dies doesn't mean that another person will die because they are the same age. Still, I found myself checking Julie more than usual on Monday just to make sure she was breathing. Another part of me thought about what our friends must have gone through with Rachel's death. I can't imagine losing Julie. It must have been one of the hardest things that they ever went through.

On Monday morning, my best friend called me to let me know that her mother had passed away. She had been sick for years and was put on hospice in December, so it was an expected death, but that doesn't make it any less painful. The good thing is that she's not suffering anymore, because I know that was hard for everyone to watch.

Then came my second death in less than 36 hours. Yesterday morning, I got a text message while at the pediatrician's office from one of the guys at work. One of our students was killed in a car crash on Monday night. She was also our work study, and I considered her a friend. I think that death hit me harder than the first one, mostly because it was so unexpected. She was only 20 years old and she was supposed to graduate in May.

I'm not trying to be morbid and depressing, and maybe this post is. I just can't stop thinking about all that these families have been through this week. One family lost a mother; one lost a daughter. One death was expected and, in some small part, welcomed; the other was a tragic accident. My only prayer is that both families have the peace of knowing that their loved one is in heaven and that they will be reunited one day.