04 February 2014

Love and Loss




This morning I noticed Buby shoving a sympathy card into his book bag. He made it for his buddy Jonas, who lost his grandpa over the weekend. Bleu saw the card, too, and immediately exclaimed "But Gav! That pencil is your only gift from Ana Maria!" Buby responded, "I know, but Jonas loves hockey too, and he needs it more than me right now." 


Oh Sweetness! Buby's gesture reminded me that our little family of five hasn't had much experience with loss. The children are blessed to have four living grandparents, a bonus grandparent figure, and even a great grandfather whom they barely know. Of course we've prayed for friends/family with cancer and other illnesses, and Buby and Bleu know that I've attended funerals for an aunt and a cousin in recent years. But still, I'm pretty sure the only death that has impacted their little hearts directly was that of our dog Jazzy in 2012. Tom and I had her for 14 years, so even though we knew it was coming the sadness we felt surrounding that event was impossible to hide.


So. All of this to say that I'm in awe of little ones who can show compassion to friends who are hurting, even though they haven't experienced the same hurt. Yet. It's true that a pencil and a play date offer won't bring Jonas' grandpa back, but it's something. It's something.


P.S. A few weeks ago I bookmarked an inspiring NY Times piece on how to support friends who are grieving. 

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