Musing

Good Morning, Mark! As always, your musings have hit on something that has been going through my own mind lately - albeit with a twist! You muse as to being alone when we die, are ill, or just at various moments in our life. I have just returned from (I thought) laying to rest a number of my own ghosts - living and dead. The drive back across the country gave me a couple of days to reflect on why we move on, how we leave and why we don't take all our stuff - baggage and people included - when we do so. How much responsibility do we as individuals bear for the loss (presence wise) of our friends and dear ones, and how much is simply a growing apart of ideals and values, or simply and unconscious recognition that in the greater scheme of things, our jigsaw puzzle pieces just don't fit together anymore? You can care for someone, but no longer love them; still laugh over adventures you shared with a close friend, but no longer find yourself having anything to talk about when you call or visit. It isn't anybody's fault - rather it is about moving forward. I still have a lot of my ghosts hanging around, but now they share my space on my terms, with warm and loving memories when I look at them, rather than intruding with an undercurrent of guilt for having left them behind. Have a great day! , EP, ?

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Sounds like your Dad is a vibrant 84 year old......same age as my mother.........who runs circles around me and always has. My thoughts are to let go and let God work out the way it's supposed to be for both them and us. You have no control!, CC, Chestermere

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Just read your musing this morning for yesterday and can fully commiserate, the smallest of things can send me into a panic when I can't reach my dad, only to find that all is well. The price of allowing them that independence. It is surprising the strength one can find, where does it come from, was it always there, when the time comes. My mom exsanguinated when her aorta burst, just moments after telling me what a great day she had. Of course, she was dead instantly, but it never stopped me from applying my limited first aid knowledge until the EMT's arrived. As difficult as that was, (growth experiences are never easy) I was certainly glad to be there and to find comfort in the fact that she was in my arms when she passed. Sometimes that is the greatest gift we can give those that we love, SB, Calgary