A ten-year-old boy succumbs to H1N1, and a family member has died. Another mother and father have lost a child. I read this distant relative's obituary and paused at "survived by his parents." A quiet sadness overtook me. Death is final, but I consider these phrases "survived by his children" with "survived by his parents." If only the former could have been this boy's obituary. If only . . . The death of a child feels like the death of hope. I slump with heaviness to know that when the parents die, their obituaries will read "preceded in death by their child."
I am so very sorry for their loss. So very sorry.
heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteIt goes against the natural order of things. It just seems wrong. Raging wrong.
ReplyDeleteI can always only curse when I read these things.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I used to be one of those people who thought when it was your time to go, it was your time. And nothing you were doing mattered. Showering, sleeping, driving, eating... Times up. But since my son died I have felt like this doesn't hold true for kids. When I child dies I find myself feeling like they were stolen. There was a mistake. We were robbed. Because never, have I ever thought that a child dying simply meant that it was their time to go. No. Now I feel like someone made a mistake. It can't possibly be right. I was an accident.
Every time I hear or read of a child dying, I mourn with the parents. Akul has definitely gifted me a caring heart and weeping eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear this. :( There was a 13 year old boy in this city who died last week from H1N1, 48 hours after he started feeling ill(triggering a sudden stampede for vaccinatinos). It's just heartbreaking. :(
ReplyDeleteSo very sad. These losses feel so very wrong and it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that they happen all the time. Thinking of you and of this boy's parents.
ReplyDeleteIt's so backward.
ReplyDeleteSome time ago I made my mom promise that, if I die before she does, she will make sure the obituary includes the "preceded in death by. . ." Just to make sure. It's backward, but its us. And they matter.