Now We Know What We Should Do

I am just coming off a fabulous Florida vacation and feel like I just got run over by a moving train. We got back home on Saturday morning. On Sunday morning, my son told me that his friend's dad had died...48 years old...heart attack....at camp. ugh. Like a fist to the stomache. Jason and this friend had grown up together and their dads were a big part of their lives. I watched and listened as his mom told the family there were to be no flowers or crosses at camp. That was his "happy place." I watched and listened as she made lists with her friends on who needed to be called...then watched and listened as she made those calls. Family and friends kept showing up...and still...she kept coming back to me...to talk and to listen. Perhaps she just needed to know that she would be ok. Perhaps she just needed to know that she would be able to smile someday. Was she relieved to see what grief looks like in the 2nd year? Did she see someone who has chosen to move forward in spite of the grief? I told her she'd be ok. I promised.