Day 11: When none of it makes sense

I wrote quite a long blog today. When I finished, I logged on FB to post a link and saw a post from a fellow school mum saying goodbye to her husband after he passed away today. 

I don’t know this mum super well but I’m crying as I type this, thinking about what she and her kids must be going through, and what the road ahead holds for them. This family has already been through a lot and today they took such a devastating blow.

Their experience has placed life in sharp focus once more and reminded me of the fragility of everything. I realise my complaints and irritations only ever hold weight when I lose sight of that fragility. 

The minute I’m reminded of how quickly a person’s entire world can change, I’m reminded of how valuable the mundane actually is. 

When faced with the kind of loss that family is facing, I reckon most of us would trade pretty much anything to turn back the clock and return to the life we previously complained about.

Having experienced sudden loss in my own family, I know this was the case for us.

It’s going to sound strange, but I feel like the key to living joyfully resides somewhere in this whole mess and the recognition of the fragility and futility of everyday life. 

It feels both insensitive and inappropriate to dig for that key right now, just a few minutes after learning about someone else’s devastating loss, so I’ll leave that exploration for another time and finish instead by sending my absolute heartfelt condolences to her and her family – and to all families facing difficult or devastating things. 

My heart goes out to all of you.