making sense of it all

A little over two weeks ago, my wife's mother passed away. I wouldn't actually call it sudden, since a terminal cancer diagnosis was made nearly six months ago, but that doesn't mean it was expected. We went from believing we had a year to watching a stroke knock that down to four days. Again, not exactly expected...

As anyone would expect, children have questions at times like this. Was their grandmother actually in the coffin at the funeral? Where did their grandmother go? And, of course, when will they die? Needless to say, you aren't always ready to address those questions with children who are four and six... With our teenager, who is now an adult, it's a different story, because the connection to the deceased is that much greater and the emotion is that much stronger.

It is certainly a fact of life, and one that must be dealt with, talked through, and, ultimately, accepted. That doesn't make it any easier, but we simply take comfort in the knowledge that we will all get through this...