Too Many Shoulders

It’s true that one can never understand how much it hurts till it happens to you. Losing someone you love is so painful…but a support system makes it that much easier to deal with. Or does it? I lost my grandfather early Thursday morning. The entire day was such a blur. I don’t think it has still completely set in that he is really gone. I remember loads of people coming home and calling on the phone. But I don’t think it really registered who most of them were…

Over the past four days, people have been calling – both my mom’s and grandmother’s friends – to express their sadness and offer condolences. But finally today, my mom said “Sympathy can be so oppressive sometimes…” To repeat the same story – of how, when, and where it happened – to EVERY person who asks is really painful. Just hearing my mom saying it, I re-live the whole thing in my head. It must be complete agony to her. I’m amazed at her strength.

He was a writer and a teacher, so he has fans and students all over the world. So many of them called when they heard the news – the phone would ring every 5 minutes! SO many people have said wonderful things about him, shared funny and special memories of him, and expressed their grief. It’s so nice to know that there are so many people who loved and thought highly of him.

But I can’t help but wonder – would we have been better off having fewer shoulders to cry on?