The Other Side of Life...

The other side of Life is Death.   We celebrate the first and fear the latter.  Today I lost my Grandmother.  My heart aches with pain.  She was old; this is the natural order of things, or so I tell myself.  I think about how lucky I've been to have had her in my life for so long.  I think about how lucky I am to have my children healthy and well. 

My ex-mother in law, a woman still close to my heart, told me one time:  "I've lost my mother; I've lost my father, my brother, my husband, my best friend.  I was able to cope with it all.  The death of my son, now that, I've never been able to accept!" 

I think of all the parents who've lost their children and I shudder: what an unbearable burden, a weight so heavy that every day it sinks the heart a little further. 

I think of wives who've lost their loving husbands in the midst of their lives together.  How sad to have to raise the children alone.  How sad to yearn for that special someone day in and day out; to see him in the faces of your children and ache for him deep in your soul.

Today I lost my Grandmother, a woman so magnanimous and kind.  If she was here she'd say:  this is the way it's supposed to be.  You age and you die and you leave behind those you love and hope they've learnt all the lessons you helped teach them.  

When people lose loved ones I always give them Harold Kushner's book:  "When Bad Things Happen To Good People".   In honor of my Grandmother's passing, I have compiled a list of helpful books for those in mourning.  Nothing can take away the pain, yet some comfort is derived from reading these:

When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Necessary Losses by Judith Viorst

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston

If you know of any other great writings that deal with losing someone dear, please share them with the rest of us!

Mirela Monte, Your Myrtle Beach Connection                              Proud Optimist! 

*Note:  Earlier today I wrote a loving tribute to my Grandmother:  The Eternal Optimist is Dead