...

The father of a friend of mine,

 who I've known for what seems like my whole life,

passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

 

She is actually the fourth friend of mine in four months that has lost her father.

I am shocked. and deeply, deeply saddened for their losses, for their families, for the future that will now go on, without their fathers.

 

It is a future that seems unfathomable to me. And tomorrow when I go home, I will squeeze my parents extra tight. Because I cannot imagine my life without them, being just a phone call away, or in the next room. to ask random questions, tell them something silly, share big news, or ask for help. My parents support me mentally, physically and more often than not, financially.

My heart breaks for my friends who are hurting. and really, it breaks for us all, who will one day have to know the loss of the people who brought us into the world, who held us at night, and witnessed our first steps.

 

These things are not supposed to happen. I know that it's the way the life cycle works, but they shouldn't happen. whether we are in our teens, our twenties or our sixties, our parents are our parents. and we are all just kids, figuring out our lives, sometimes taking for granted that our parents have always been there, and shouldn't have to know what life is like without them.

 

things happen, we don't know why and we can't rationalize it. death happens, and you never know when. so tomorrow, when i go home, i will hug my parents extra tight. and i will tell them again how much i love them. as i have every day since i was old enough to mean it. because you just never know.