This morning, MC and IC opened the door and in a second ran back in the house shouting, 'Mama, why are there a lot of cars in front of the house of our neighbor?'.
I heard my heart missing a beat, for I know, our very sick, friendly neighbor just left us.
First her husband died after a heart attack a few months before December last year; which left her so depressed, her condition worsened that she needed a nurse 24 hours a day.
What did I tell the kids? I told them that our neighbor is now in heaven. That she is now happily reunited with her husband. That she left this morning to be in the arms of her husband. That they are happy together now.
But you see, yesterday afternoon, when our neighbor's being pushed on her wheelchair for a short stroll; she passed by our front yard and we all said hello. I even asked the kids to wave to her. And though I usually come to her to give her a short hug and hold her hands; I didnt do those things this time -- thinking, I'll do it tomorrow. Never thinking what tomorrow would bring. Carpe diem! Seize the day, this is oh so true.
And yes, I still wanted to hold her hands. But how? By sending prayers to her and imagining her holding hands with me. I am sure though, she would rather hold hands with her husband.
Although I explained what happened to the girls, I hurried them up before they could see the body being transferred outside. I dont think they are ready to face that, yet.
10 comments:
this is the second time i'm leaving a comment on this post because i lost the other one .. not sure if it got here though.. if so just delete this then :)
you are right we really have to seize the day. just like my friend who died a few weeks ago. thought i'd talk to her again and postponed calling her. didn't know she would fall into a coma and never wake up :( well they are now at peace and through our prayers, we can say our last goodbye. hugs to you.
Great post Raq! Does noot only apply to your neighbor but with our everyday life. Show, tell and give your love to everyone dear to you because you never know what "tomorrow" brings. Na-emote akis sa imo!
aaw...
got a tear in my eye.
i'm sure she's happier in heaven.
i'm sure she will appreciate your whispers of love and prayer just the same.
I'm sorry to hear about your neighbor. It's sad when people we know go. It's not an easy thing to tell kids.
I agree we have to seize each day and make most of it.
This post made me sad Raquel. You know how it is with expats, no matter how much you want to "seize the day", sometimes it's really impossible.
Yes, let's say a prayer for your neighbour.
...and this will make us to do good things, let them feel they are important and never wait because it could be too late! All my prayers to the family.
Kids could understand they're in heaven but facing the reality could be tough. So there's really a time for everything!
Rest in Peace....Amen
ganoon nga ang life, kaya God said,
Be Ready, while we doesn´t know when is the time.....God comes....
ganyan din ako, for 20 yrs here, dami na akong kilala na mga matanda,
isat-isa silang nawala.
mabigla-surprised na lang ako, they are now resting....
minsan nakita, nakausap, bumili pa sa store, then heard na lang namin, wla na.
thanks for sharing.....
toni - yep, i read your post too. hugs back.
lovelyn - i had to write about it as i dont really know how to deal with it; until my husband told me our neighbor would know you care
lady cess - your tear's got a twin in my eye
auee - so right you are. sometimes we tend to seize the day; the day after, not easy really
haze - with kids, we need to be more sensitive esp when it comes to these 'abstract' things; there is enough time for them to discover things
vk - sometimes we think that that old neighbor is only out for the day; but then we would suddenly read them in the obit section... i know the feeling
This is so sad and at the same time it has that certain pain that comes from guilt.
That is why we should always tell the people we love that we love them and that they are in our hearts and mind even if distance come between us.
i totally understand where you're coming from. even the simple loss of a pet dog or cat is hard to break with the kids. I guess what could work is to have the kids identify feelings connected to the loss.
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