I am so thankful for the blessing of my family right now. I have riches beyond compare in an amazing husband, two healthy, beautiful, energetic children, and friends and family across this province. I have work that brings me joy and changes the world one student at a time. I can look out my windows at a view more beautiful than any painted in a landscape. What a rich life!
My uncle did not have such a life. He died alone in a trailer and wasn't found until a week later. My mom was notified on Wednesday. She, as the eldest sibling, is taking the role of executor and sorting out how to lay to rest a life that was short and lonely.
This was an uncle that I barely knew. He lived with us for a few weeks when I was a teenager; camped out in his tent on our property during one of his rare trips out east. I can't remember the last time I saw him. I do remember writing a story for an assignment in high school that fictionalized that last visit. I think I have that story tucked away in a box somewhere. It wasn't particularly flattering to a person who spent too much of his time in bars and was told with the narrow narrative voice of a teenager with a black and white view of the world.
When you lose someone that you were not close to, but whose death is deeply saddening to someone who you were close to, there is a different kind of grieving. I don't feel any loss for a person with whom I had no personal relationship. I do feel pain for my mom and my uncles who lost their sibling without warning and without a chance to say goodbye.
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2 comments:
Emily, my condolences to you and your family. I pray that the Lord's presence may be felt by your extended family during this time and that He may give them comfort and strength. Our prayers are with you as well. Love Karen & Ray.
You, your mom and your family are in our prayers, Em.
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