Friday, November 13, 2020

Courage


I recognized the name. I wouldn't have guessed the picture. She looked so beautiful and young, fresh and alive. Except now she is not. 

I remember the grandparents of her young son. There were times that the daycare had to call them because she hadn't shown up to pick up the boy, the same age as our William, Such a beautiful child and you could tell that despite everything, there were four grandparents who were doing everything they could for the boy. 

There wasn't anything they could do for his mother. 

You could see the pain in their eyes as they made another excuse. They must have misunderstood. They didn't know she wanted them to pick up the boy. Something must have come up. She must not have her cell phone. 

No matter what they said, though, we knew. They knew too. Everyone knew, but there are things that the truth doesn't fix and this situation was one of them. 

I looked at the picture at the top of the obituary and I read the words. 

"After a long battle with addiction..." 

I knew the pain behind those six words, the big yawning blankness of pain. They all tried, over and over, all of them, I know that they did. I saw it. With every new beginning came the new hope that this time was going to be different. 

But it wasn't. Ever. 

And now everything is different. 

They put the words out there for all the world to see. It was not sugar coated. It was not disguised.

"After a long battle with addiction..." 

In the midst of their pain, once again they put the truth out there. The truth couldn't save that girl, but maybe, just maybe that truth could save someone else.

Courage is a fierce and beautiful thing, isn't it?

5 comments:

  1. It is so.
    When the only thing they could do was be there.
    Being open could help others

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  2. The grandparents sound like great people. I hope the child has a good life.

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  3. What a tragic situation in a world full of them.

    What a powerful song that I have never heard before linked above. That one will stick with me for awhile. Reminds me of "I'm Not Going To Miss You" by Glen Campbell.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I remember when one of my classmates died following a long battle with addiction (pain pills begun after a car wreck). His parents (who were older than I am now) insisted the message at his funeral focus on the tragedy of addiction. And tragedy it always is....

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  5. Addiction is a dreadful thing.
    Hopefully the child will be ok with the loving family. x

    ReplyDelete

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