Say their name

Happy Friday,

How is everyone doing on this beautiful Friday evening? The weather has decided to cool again. We welcomed our morning on the chilly and outside was giving us a slight breeze. The lake had a little bit of a ripple this morning, and it sure was amazing to sit and enjoy the quiet that surrounded me.

Molly and I cuddled up on our couch this morning. We did our morning walk, then decided it would be nice to enjoy a cup of coffee while doing a little reading. Later, I did have to cut our morning short as I had couple errands to run. I was also able to have lunch with two amazing friends today, then, it was off to work on our clubs float for tomorrows Fiesta Day Parade.

What are your plans for the weekend? Please stay safe out there if you will be out and about. It’s a holiday weekend, so on the occasion, we see a few extra “happy” folks out and about.

I’m ready for some down time, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. Between doctor visits and moving, and a girl cruise at the end of June, gosh, I don’t think I’ll be able to have a moment until July. Exciting and busy times, and I know I’ll need some quiet time when it’s all said and done.

This past week my mind has been on overdrive and I’ve been nothing less then stressed. I’ve decided to jump deep into my devotionals and it seems to be helping to calm my thoughts. I’ve also been practicing my breathing exercises that my therapist taught me. I even showed my friend how to practice breathing in hopes of alleviating her unimaginable stress. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to her daughter. Her funeral services will be a hard one for my friend.

When I think about tomorrow, I can’t get the image out of my head of what my friend said. “The viewing is from 9 to 9:45. At 9:46, they’ll close the casket, lock it, never to be opened again.”

This keeps racing through my head. That feeling my friend has had since her daughter passed and the feelings she experiencing leading up to closing the casket, I can’t even imagine what she’s going through.

I pray for her every day. I tell God I’m not exactly sure what to say to him, other then, “wrap your arms around her and help her.” I can’t pray for her to get on with life, I can’t pray for her to not hurt, so, I’m back to not knowing what to say. Losing a child, no matter how old that child is, it’s something that goes against the circle of life. It’s part of life, but a parent shouldn’t ever have to bury their child.

“When you lose a child.. It’s like waking up lost! Your world becomes forever distorted, and warped. The dark pain, and deep scars cannot be spoken. There are no words to describe it, and the loss could never be measured. You’ll never forget it, and you don’t get over it because you’ll miss your child until your very last breath. We cope with great strength, but we will never get over this!:-Angel Moms over St. Louis Mo.

It’s hard to watch someone I care about suffer. It weighs on me, and I know this is something out of my control. I know this is something I can’t change and I know I can’t take away her pain.

Yesterday when I was with my friend, I did a lot of listening. She needed to just vent about her feelings. At first I was nervous of perhaps saying the wrong thing, then, I remembered something someone had said to me about losing one of their loved ones. I was told that a person who loses someone doesn’t want to avoid talking about them, they want to be able to talk openly and they want others to talk about their loved ones too.

“If you know someone who has lost a child and you’re afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died, they didn’t forget they died. You’re not reminding them. What you’re reminding them of is that you remembered they lived, and that’s a great, great gift.”-Elizabeth Edwards.

When we lose someone we love, life will go on, it always has and it always will. The pain of losing someone will lessen with time. Maybe the pain won’t be so raw, but the memories of our loved ones will never fade away. They will remain in our thoughts until our final breath. Embracing those memories will hopefully give us some peace.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”-Richard Puz.

So when the time is right, just remember, it’s okay to say their name. You might just be giving someone a gift. The gift of showing their loved one is remembered by others.

Well my dear friends, I must be signing off for now. Have a blessed evening and until next time, don’t forget, Love Life++ Hugs.