Yes, she's strange and different...but not THAT different.

07 October 2008

A long time

OK - I'm kinda sorta back, but still recovering from Ike-induced PTSD symptoms. I will, however, be OK. "Thank you very much!" to everyone who commented here and sent me emails in support. However, I KNOW that as crappy as our situation was, some people had it a lot worse. I know this because one of those who did have it worse is a member of my family.

My sister's husband is dying; it's unlikely that he will see another Thanksgiving. He was under in-home hospice care when Ike roared through town and turned off their electricity, necessitating his being moved to an actual hospice facility. Their power outage lasted 3 days longer than mine (over 2 weeks!), but he finally came home last weekend. Because my sister has been trying to work and stay with my brother-in-law at all other times, NOTHING has been cleaned up at their house. My brother and I were at their place last weekend and will be there again next weekend getting their yard cleared out and back to something approximating pre-Ike normalcy. To say that my sister is stressed is a major understatement. Our father died on Thanksgiving several years ago, and it is now one of her biggest fears that her husband will go on the same day. She needs some serious decompression - as do we all - but helping her get through her days has helped me get through mine.

In the midst of all this destruction and dying, I overheard someone say, "Life is short." And it occurred to me then that as often as I've heard that phrase and accepted it, it's just not true. For each one of us who is alive or who has ever lived, the one thing we spend the entirety of our lives doing ... is LIVING. Our lives are not short; they are long - they ARE our lifetime. So, if something that takes a long time is referred to as "taking a lifetime", it only stands to reason that a lifetime IS a long time. So, I'm not ever again going to say that life is short. It may not be long enough to suit some of us, but that isn't the same thing as being short.

  • On 10/07/2008 5:43 PM, Blogger heels said…

    Life may not be short, but it's still worth it to appreciate every moment for what it is and not be left at the end thinking "what the heck did I do with my life?"

    I'm glad that, at least for you, things are rolling back around to "normal." I have a hard time imagining going through all of that. My thoughts were, and continue to be, with you.

     
  • On 10/07/2008 9:49 PM, Blogger Suzy said…

    I noticed that I kept saying Life Is Short a LOT and decided that might be a self-fulfilling prophecy so I stopped saying it.

    So sorry about your sister's situation...

     
  • On 10/08/2008 6:11 PM, Blogger Jen said…

    I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's husband and all that they've both (and you all) have been going through.

    I'm glad she has you and your brother, though.

     
  • On 10/08/2008 10:09 PM, Blogger cathouse teri said…

    When anyone starts a sentence with "life is too short...." I interrupt them with, "Oh, no it's not." (Usually, my statement is that life is too long to spend it married... hee hee.)

    I'm sorry to hear about your sister's struggles. Death and suffering are so tough. I don't even know what to say in those situations except I'm here and I love you.

     
  • On 10/09/2008 8:53 AM, Blogger exskindiver said…

    life is too short when you are having fun--
    and too long when it sucks, as in the case of your sister with a sick husband.

    sorry about that.

     
  • On 10/14/2008 3:04 PM, Blogger soccer mom in denial said…

    So sorry to read about your sister and the family history with Thanksgiving. It makes holidays so hard when everyone else is happy around you and for you it is the anniversary of a death.

    Good luck cleaning - both your home, your sister's and the whole community.

     

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