That's Life

Saying goodbye is never easy, even when we're prepared for it.

By the time you've hit your 30s, you've likely dealt with some grief. Losing a grandparent can take the wind out of your sails, but it's something that is inevitable. The circle of life is an order of nature that sometimes seems unfair but manageable.

It's those moments of unexpected loss that can throw you for a loop.

My first experience with unexpected grief was the loss of my niece. While Maeve battled a litany of heart conditions and other medical calamities related to Noonan syndrome, I never accepted the thought we'd lose her.

But we did.

Her short, glorious seven-month-old life taught me volumes about what we're doing here on earth. And it gave me a solid foundation of convictions about where we go next.

Some of these thoughts were born out of the commingling of faith and belief - two entirely different influences. You and I may not see eye to eye on all of these; thanks for respecting my perspective.

• God made all of us. God loves all of us. God forgives everything that happens on Earth.
• We're all here to do something. Maeve was here to teach many that life is a short, miraculous gift, and that we should seize every occasion to live fully, love deeply and laugh often.
• Life is hard, but conquering our challenges gives rise to opportunities for growth.
• Surviving those challenges gives us a chance for learning, and that prepares us for whatever is next.
• We all go someplace after this stop on Earth. I don't know where that is, and I don't know what we do when we get there, but I believe there is something more and bigger than what we do on the rock that is this planet.
• When we get to the next stop on the continuum of being, we will see our loved ones again. I'm banking on that one.

Grief has recently made a new wound on my heart, but it has also revived many wonderful memories I haven't dwelled on in years. My heartache has reminded me of a wonderfully fun-loving friend who loved dance-offs, crazy costumes and random parties, and a wild game of Boones Farm races.

He was the same kind man who picked me up at jail after a wild night in my 20s.

We all need good friends from time to time. Sometimes we're the one who needs the friend, and other times we're called upon to be the good friend.

And so, for my friend Zack, a reminder in a favorite song from yesteryear.

One more time.

PS. Thanks for the couches. I'm still rockin' them.

Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.