Endings

09.10.10

Death. It doesn’t matter who we are, what we believe in or how we behave. The only thing that truly unites us universally is that we all will one day be but a mere memory.

To have so many people die at about the same time is a bit…heart-wrenching especially when two of the deaths are so closely related to my childhood. I don’t wish pain on anyone with whom I’m no longer friends but I know that my former friend (and her family) are going through a lot. Their mom wasn’t Lithuanian but the community adopted her in and every summer at scout camp, she (the mom) was the head cook where we all worked with her at some point during our chore rotation. We adored her. She always had a smile on her face and was already ready to sit and talk with you whenever you needed.

Her husband is and always was a huge flirt but no matter how much he’d flirt his way through a room, when he looked at his wife, there was undying love and devotion. You couldn’t miss that in his eyes. In fact, they were a rare example for me growing up that a marriage can last. I have this foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach that he may pass in the next year himself because having to live without her might be too much.

It’s a strange feeling to lose someone from your childhood. On a day-to-day basis, we don’t pay attention to the ticking clock of our life but when a death occurs, it makes you stop and ponder the years that have gone by. And those memories, at least for me, are always bittersweet.

Rest in peace, A. You will be missed.