Contending with Reality

photo © 2008 Athena Flickr | more info (via: Wylio)Although I know Erica is gone, I never saw any physical evidence of her death.  I have mixed feelings about that.  I know it would have been traumatic to see her and probably even haunting to me.  But there is a part of me that still doesn't want to believe she is gone.  Therefore contending with reality can be challenging for me.  My mind knows she's gone but moving on to acceptance is proving difficult for me.  How do you accept that your loved one is gone and get to the point where you can let it go?

Quote: "Death is not the greatest loss in life.  The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”

            ~Norman Cousins

Last Gift

photo © 2010 SFAJane | more info (via: Wylio)This past Christmas my Sister bought me a Pandora butterfly bead for my bracelet.  Of all the beads on my bracelet that one means the most to me.  Through the years I can't remember any other present that meant as much.  She could have gone the easy route and got me a gift card, but she didn't.  My butterfly bead was the last gift my Sister gave to me.  Just like a butterfly, Erica's life was too brief.  The beauty is fleeting but touches our lives in a quiet way.  May the beauty of Erica's life live on with her family and friends everyday.

Three Months

Another Tuesday is here and another reminder to me, it has been ninety-one days since my Sister passed away.  Life marches on and the clock doesn't stop.  Each day passes and time piles up.  Three months of tears and words I've shared, doesn't take the pain away for the loss I bear.  No words can describe the utter despair knowing my Sister will never be here.  Three months isn't long, only a fraction of time, life as we knew it no longer exists.  As another sun sets and the day is through, there is still one saying and it's sadly true, you don't know what you've got until it's gone.  So forget-not my Sister, even though her journey is done.  Time will not extinguish the memories we shared. 

Quote:  Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.
                 ~John Archibald Wheeler

Life

photo © 2010 jans canon | more info (via: Wylio)

The life we live is the life we make.  There are no directions for the roads we take.  The choices we make affect the ones we love.  There is no recipe to follow or tried and true plan.  No guarantees are given for how things turn out.  Sometimes life is a mystery just waiting to be solved.  Life has no "do over" button, so make certain that you, live your life to its fullest until it is through.