Sunday, August 23, 2009

When it hits home....

Life can be cruel. No more so than when it involves a child....

The recent tornado that tore through southwestern Ontario claimed the life of one child. A boy. Although I did not know the boy, I do know his parents - we went to school together. We road a school bus for years and then graduated through life to meet again in a prenatal class years ago.

We sat across the room from each other, marvelling at how life had changed for all four of us and what we had to look forward to in our first born children.

We had a boy. So did they.

The wonder that is Facebook brought us back together again and we chatted as the interest arose - usually from an interesting photo or status update. Both parents are quiet, intellectual people with brilliant senses of humor. I can only image how wonderful their son was...and their daughter is.....

I have actually had nightmares about not being there for my children when a storm hits. With both The Big Guy and I working a distance from where they were in daycare, I was always aware of weather, both winter and summer. I have anticipated the horror our friends are now living through. I look at First Born Son, think of all that is coming up in his life, from school in a week to a family of his own in the future and imagine it all being gone. With out warning....

I'm not going to share names, or details. That is not how our friends want this very private matter handled. Media can be a slimy monster in cases like this. Looking for the best angle, the edgiest quote, picture..... You will hear enough from "conventional" news sources. I don't want to be a part of that.

In short, take a moment to tell your children how much you love them. Tell your husband, wife, parent, sibling how much they mean to you.

Life is good - but it doesn't come with a guarantee.

Make each moment count. It sounds corny now, but you will cherish every moment when the time comes.

No comments:

Post a Comment