This past week has thrown two of my dear friends for quite a loop. One of my dear friends at work lost her Mom after being ill for a short time after suffering several strokes. I sit right next to her at work and listed to the painful events her and her family went through almost every day. Most of the time I felt quite helpless - I'm a pretty good listener, but I'm not very good when it comes to comforting things to say. I know it's difficult for everyone, but sometimes I get anxious just thinking about what to say.
At the same time, my best friend, who lives in Africa but whose parents live in MA, found out her Mom had cancer and it had already spread quite thoroughly. Although she had planned a trip home for the Holidays, her family stateside advised it might be a good idea to come home ASAP. She literally made it home in the nick of time. She walked in the door, her Mom recognized her, smiled, said her name - so she definitely knew she was there...then only hours later, her Mom could do no more than mumble. I had the good fortune of growing up with this friend and her family, which consisted of 2 sisters, 3 brothers and her parents. I spent this past Friday and Saturday, not only attending the wake and funeral, but once again enjoying the company of my friend and her family.
In both cases, they were short illnesses and the families are devastated. My heart goes out to both families and I hope I can learn to better enjoy life to its fullest at every opportunity and stop sweating the small stuff.
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