A child's death is certainly one of the saddest events to occur or even to think about.
A child's death is like no other death. The natural ebb and flow and order of life and death we have come to expect in our lives is gone.
Grandparents are supposed to die before a grandchild. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. Yet it happens. And trying to make any sense of it is, quite frankly, just not possible.
Choosing to tackle difficult conversations regarding just about any topic seems to get parked on the back burner when people engage in conversations on a daily basis. That certainly appears to be the case when one brings up the topic of death and dying.
If a topic is not deemed "urgent" or necessary" during the normal ebb and flow of our busy packed days and nights, we tend to put it aside, hoping for a better time or a better place to have that difficult chat.
This topic is near and dear to me, tugging at my heartstrings when I think about it.
This is a very personal story I am sharing with you.
My family owned, loved, and cared for a wonderful shingle covered and much weathered summer cottage. It is located on an island and is a place where I spent my summers growing up, molding into, and eventually becoming the person I am today.
This home was my summer haven for over forty years.
CNN's red alerts just shot across my Ipad sharing the breaking news announcing the death of Tom Clancy at age 66.
The good news is that the alert temporarily interupted the diatribe of elected officials regarding the government's shut down.
I am such a Tom Clancy fan so this is sad news. Who hasn't seen "Hunt For Red October" several times? or read "Patriot Games"?