How’s that working out for you? Mourning…grieving. Sadly, in 2022 grief more than ever has become an everyday thing, what with all the goings on in the world from the lingering pandemic hanging on by the fangs, cultural decline, War in Eastern Europe, to the evermore frequent, horrific mass shooting murders in mainstream USA. To quote one Jeffrey Lebowski:

For this writer, grief has become very personal. Losing one of your best friends, who also happens to be your Dad, spins you out. In July it will be one year since my Dad’s ascension to a better place. Of course, we’re all going to die, and we expect it in an abstract sense, but that’s for another far off day, until it isn’t. The moment of truth always arrives.

The shroud of grief smothers. Thanks to a post-pandemic society, one can feel even more alone going through grief…Stranded. Listless. Adrift. Numb. It’s a strange feeling that feels nearly impossible to get past, but you keep enduring. Grieving is different for everyone, yet one constant in the process is Time. One day you’re taking two steps forward, one step back – and on another day two steps backward and one step forward. Time surely takes its time, until healing does begin to assuage, albeit slowly. You learn to live with it in your own way.

Reflecting on those final days with my Dad, even in the shadow of death, he never lost his sense of humor. We had many wonderful and deep discussions right up to his final Sunday. We were quoting one of our favorite movies as we always had for decades, Glengarry Glen Ross, just like normal. He would riff with his hospice nurses in true (serious) Glengarry fashion, “How long is this going to take?; I know I’m going to die, I Get It ~ Let’s get this done!” My favorite quip he made was after a nurse left late one night, Will You Go To Lunch!

Fortunately for my Dad, and my family, we were all together at home when God made The Call. Not many people get that opportunity, to be with their loved ones in their final moments. It’s a rare blessing when they do. Pure Love, and Love is Forever – even when picking up the pieces as painful and hard as that is. Leaving the party ain’t easy, and life does go on. More than anything, you remember the good times, all those smiles, inside jokes, and laughter. Life is Precious. For those of us left behind (for now), we continue circling the wagons for each other as we regain our footing in moving forward. All Things Must Pass.