SUFFERING A LOSS

My family has suffered an incredible loss this past week.  

My brother-in-law, Bobby, passed away unexpectedly.  

My sister and her sons are devastated to say the least.  Angela and Bobby have been married for almost 32 years.  That's about a two-thirds of her life.  

How does one start over after 32 years of having that special someone by their side every day?  

And that's exactly what she has to do...start over.  Every moment of her day included a piece of him.

She and I sat in her bedroom last night for hours.  We talked about the things that only sisters can talk about with one another.  

She's taking several weeks off of work but she talked about how difficult it's going to be when she goes back to her old routine, minus Bobby.  She would always call him on her way home from work to see if he needed her to stop for anything.  On many occasions she would stop for a to-go order of El Sombrero or a bucket of chicken.

She talked about how he'd sometimes get up in the middle of the night and make himself a bowl of cereal.  She said she often suspected that he was doing this in his sleep because he would do it without any acknowledgment that she was in the room.

But the thing that broke my heart was when she said she wouldn't have anyone to play smoochy-face with anymore. 

Bobby was her one and only ever.  He was her best friend, best lover, best father to her children.  

Bobby was an interesting brother-in-law.  He didn't sugar coat anything.  He had a knack for seeing things as they were and letting everyone know.  He didn't spare feelings a lot of times which was a little harsh and tended to offend many.  But with Bobby, you always knew exactly where you stood.

I was lucky enough to have been able to spend some quality time with him recently.  He and I had a 45 minute phone call just a few days before he passed.  My boys and I had just visited their house last week.  The Teenager and Bobby worked on their car.  

My point in sharing all of this is don't take today for granted.  You never know when those that you love the most will be gone to heaven.  Take this moment to make that phone call that you've been saying you'll make.  
Go visit that friend or relative that you haven't seen for a while.  

Go lay in bed with your kids and watch a cartoon. 

Go have a good laugh or cry with your best friend. 

But most of all, grab your better half and play smoochy-face.  







Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.