Death, thou shalt die
“People never die as long as someone remembers them.” Well this blog just got real serious, real fast didn’t it? I honestly contemplated leaving this one until later, until you “got to know me better”. But it’s the second quote I wrote down and so it will be the second quote I write about. This is actually one of a few quotes I have about death and dying…or more specifically, quotes about how people/things you love never really die. That belief is an important part of who I am – how I get through certain days. I’ve been lucky in terms of death. Not to say I’VE escaped death or been near it (though there was this run-in with a bus and standing too close to the edge of a curb, but I digress). Rather, I’ve been lucky that very few people/things I cared about have died. Only three to be exact. Family. Pet. Friend. One from each category. In that order. And each individually and uniquely ripped my heart out. Family: It was one of those cases where the book version would start out, “Anastasia thought today would be a day just like any other, but by the time her eyes finally, wearily closed in the wee hours of morning, her life had been changed forever.” It was the kind of death where, eight years later, you still wake up and wonder what that person is doing today. Or you pick up the phone thinking you should call them…and then you remember. Pet: Dog is man’s best friend. Nope. Dog is an only-child’s best friend. I was going to jump into something *fingers crossed* clever defending the fact that I did have friends other than my dog, but I’ll let it stand. He was my best friend for 11 years. He got sick the first year I left home for college and never fully recovered. I had to make the decision to put him down when I was a Junior – he was getting so sick that I had to fly home for a weekend right before Christmas b/c my family didn’t think he’d make it ‘til then. I should have come home sooner. I haven’t had a dog since…there will never be another like him. Friend: We had just graduated. He was an acquaintance from college and, if I’m being completely honest with myself, he was a three-year-long crush. He was that guy who was always nice and funny and had smart things to say (and was easy on the eyes). He went out one night and didn’t get to come home. A drunk driver took that option away from him. He was writing a screen play. It would have been amazing. But I remember them. Maybe not everyday, but just about. And other people remember them just as often. So they will always be here – just out of sight, but close enough to remind you that it’ll all be ok.
