Passing

This has been a difficult week for me and many close to me and to thousands of people I don't know. Never before have I been reminded so much of the preciousness of life. My heart aches for the families of those killed in the Haitian earthquake and for those dying and left behind. The faces of despair and anguish make me want to pack a little bag and take whatever flight I can to go and help. An American doctor today has witnessed a woman's three children die, and another dying of infection. We have donated to the Red Cross and are emptying the closets for clothes and supplies, but it just doesn't seem like enough...

Thoughts and prayers are out to a dear friend who is suffering the sudden loss of his mother and to another who's beloved "Gram" has passed away. A hospital co-worker and her daughter were killed in an auto accident, and the 5 year anniversary of "Paddy's" passing was marked this week.

I remember as a child, everything bad happened to everyone around me. Rarely, with the exception of the passing of my grandfather, was I ever directly affected by someone's death. I was protected by degrees of separation where these events were experienced passively. Sadly, as I grow older, know more people and know more "older" people, these events become closer and closer to me.

The only thing I can do is hug a little tighter, be a little sweeter, and love a whole lot more...