Life - and death - lessons
Late May ushered in a new season for us as a family. We were about our spring activities: yard work, taking out our summer clothes, Leesie finishing up her school semester. Then the unexpected happened--my father-in-law Tom suffered a massive heart attack, then passed away a week later.
Wow. People go through this kind of thing everywhere, but it's stunning when it happens in your own family. We had no warning with Tom; we'd been in church together that morning, everything perfectly normal, and that night he was in ICU in a coma. He never awoke to say goodbye to his family.
These ensuing weeks have been filled with the business of wrapping up a life. Paperwork, phone calls, visits, obituaries, funeral and memorial arrangements, and cleaning out personal belongings have filled our days. The harder part has been to support my mother-in-law--help her redefine life after 62 years of marriage to her deeply loved sweetheart. She's had significant health issues that have ma…
Wow. People go through this kind of thing everywhere, but it's stunning when it happens in your own family. We had no warning with Tom; we'd been in church together that morning, everything perfectly normal, and that night he was in ICU in a coma. He never awoke to say goodbye to his family.
These ensuing weeks have been filled with the business of wrapping up a life. Paperwork, phone calls, visits, obituaries, funeral and memorial arrangements, and cleaning out personal belongings have filled our days. The harder part has been to support my mother-in-law--help her redefine life after 62 years of marriage to her deeply loved sweetheart. She's had significant health issues that have ma…