Saturday, April 12, 2008

Surreal....

With Hubby's folks in town for the next few weeks, we had placed all sorts of little things on the calendar. Today was going to be a big family picnic with "his" and "hers" kids all meeting at a park. Things didn't quite go as planned though.

My Uncle Jim died this morning. It was a thing that we knew would happen soon. He had been fighting a long and difficult battle with a strong cancer that had ravaged his lungs, brain, and liver. But even though you prepare and know it is coming, it still takes your breath away when it finally happens.

The girls and I headed up to the house this morning as quick as we could so that we could do whatever we could....answer phones, make food, walk the dogs, give hugs, cry, and just be a presence in the swirling sea of numb reality.

Not that I doubt it, but I was struck fresh several times throughout the day how important my family is to me. As I have said before, there is a lot of emotions that roll with so many of my family members. It is said that you can't pick your family and you are just stuck with them. I see that in my family. Were it not for the fact that we are all blood related, we would never be around one another. And yet, whenever there is a crisis, the gloves and resentments go away and we are...family.

5 comments:

  1. My heart goes out to you and your family. Though you may not always be a unit, it is a blessing that you all come together in times of sorrow or crisis. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

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  2. Sending prayers and good thoughts and my sympathies. Family does pull together at a time like this, and the rest seems to fall away.

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  3. Regardless all the other "ingredients" in the "Family Dish" ... the enhancing 'spices' or your loving Spirit save the final product from an unsavory possibility ... and would make any family a delicacy worthy of savouring.

    (and the fact that I Love You prejudices me in no way!)
    [a loving smile]

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  4. So sorry to hear about your uncle, and I'm sure that the support that you are providing is invaluable to them at this time. Death is an awful thing to deal with regardless of whether it is expected or not.

    Families are wonderful things, even if at times they can be painstaking! There is an amazing pulling together that happens which you just could not find in any other way. My thoughts are with you and you family.

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  5. Quilly, Jennifer, John Michael, Mima...Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

    I cherish my blogger family.

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