Loss.

More and more I notice that each wedding, baby, and all the other happy events that come with adulthood seem to be accompanied by a sad one. This week in particular I find myself stewing over what it means to lose a loved one. I consider myself lucky to never have experienced the loss of a close family member, but I'd like to share the story of someone in family who just has.

There is a young woman in my family who lost her father two days ago. He fought a very short, but valiant battle with cancer. His prognosis from the beginning was poor, but no one expected his battle to end in less than three months. Although it is sad that we anticipated his death none of us expected his condition to deteriorate so quickly, and so we still find ourselves feeling some degree of disbelief.

For me the most difficult part of this sad turn of events is thinking about the young woman. She and I are the same age; in fact her birthday is almost exactly a month before mine. And, as I mentioned, her father died two days ago exactly four days before her thirtieth birthday. My sadness and compassion for her runs deeper than just thinking about how I would feel if my father died in the week before my birthday. I am teary-eyed just thinking about her upcoming wedding. That's right, in a little over two months she is suppose to be celebrating one of the happiest days of her life. I can't stop thinking about what she must be feeling, and I am overwhelmed with empathy and compassion. I know there is little to nothing I can do to ease her grief, and so instead I find myself thinking about my own daughters.

Having children has its fair share of trials and tribulations, but I wouldn't trade being a parent for anything. I would give up almost anything to be able to share a million memories with my daughters, to be able to witness their happiest days and most joyous moments. I will pick them up when they are sad or hurt, and boost them even higher when they think they've reached the top. It is moments like these, stories like this one, that give me a sense of urgency and a neediness to be with them, hug them, laugh with them. No matter what, no matter how busy, no matter how tired or grumpy, I want my daughters to know they are loved and that my dream for them is to live life to the fullest. I hope that the young woman in my family is able to remember that this is the dream her father probably had for her, and that she steps into the future with a heart full of memories past and dreams to come.