« I declare this 'be a little sensative to moonbat' day -- UPDATED | Main | Life continues »
June 15, 2006
Life interrupted
"I need you," he says, "She's back in ICU and this time ... "
My desk, covered with files, papers and the early morning flotsam of my work-a-day world has to be dealt with, in a flurry.
In a flurry, we toss the minimal into a duffle bag for the drive, with no idea of how long we'll be gone or what the next few hours or days will be. For two people, necessity and time forces me to admire just how lightly we can travel.
But he brings his dark suit, too.
All the flurry then the wait. The long drive where I can see the muscle jump along his jaw alternate with eyes ready to spill tears.
I carry a small, blue gem of calm inside, cut and polished through other emergencies, other vigils outside sterile rooms of machines that beep and hiss and hum. I wish I could just pass it over, but it is a gem we mine alone, its cut and clarity ours to fashion.
From somewhere she rallies, not much, but enough to hang on. Enough to wake and recognize those that have come to see her.
We arrive home late last night and crawl to bed, exhausted from the see-saw of flurry and wait. To awake this morning pleased the phone hasn't rung.
Which is life? Which is interruption?
I take out my gem and polish it anew.
Posted by Darleen at June 15, 2006 12:00 PM
Comments
My dad passed away in April of '03. I was notified that he was on his way out, and flew from Germany. He died a few hours after I arrived.
With every loved one, the alternative is always the same: Either we lose them, or they lose us.
"In sorrow we must go, but not despair. For behold, we are not bound forever to the circles of this world, and beyond them is more than memory."
Posted by: John at June 15, 2006 01:10 PM
With every loved one, the alternative is always the same: Either we lose them, or they lose us.
The stark realization that all relationships - good, bad, indifferent or great - at some point come to a screaching halt is a very sobering thing.
Once you've seen that revelation, then there is either hope for an afterlife, or deep, dark depression.
Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie at June 16, 2006 08:07 AM