Trees and Clouds

Good-night! good-night! as we so oft have said
Beneath this roof at midnight, in the days
That are no more, and shall no more return.
Thou hast but taken up thy lamp and gone to bed;
I stay a little longer, as one stays
To cover up the embers that still burn.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Our Mississippi hearts are grieving for our Indiana loved ones today. Today and tomorrow, a good, kind, giving, generous family is saying goodbye to a beloved husband, a devoted father. Our loved ones are saying goodbye to a dear, treasured friend. Our hometown is grieving the injustice of a life taken far too soon. This world sighs heavily at the profound loss.

Words are inadequate to convey our concern, to soothe broken hearts. The grief is too heavy; the emptiness, too vast. Sweet Karen, we send you love and wish you comfort.

Do I believe that everything happens as it is supposed to? Most definitely. But when such a seemingly senseless tragedy occurs, it shakes even the strongest of faiths.

Please know, dear friends and family, that our hearts are with you today, tomorrow, for many, many days to come. We know this is just the beginning of a long and arduous journey. We are holding you tightly in our thoughts and in our prayers. If we could diminish the pain, we would. But we are powerless in this great, wide universe to do anything but wrap you in love.

Rest in peace, Duffy. Thank you for the gift you were to this earth.

Share This Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for my mailing list

More To Explore

Happy Holidays. (Or Not.)

Society says we should be jolly and happy and thankful and joy-filled during these days. Commercials tell us to feel the magic and the wonder. But we don’t all feel it. Some of us feel hollowed out. Some of us feel lonely. Some of us feel the weight of having a double-digit bank account or mounting credit card bills. Some of us watch cheesy holiday movies and feel that we’re not enough, that we don’t measure up.

Some of those people are me. Some might be you.

Love and Gratitude

When I was younger, I believed a family was easy to define: A mother, a father, the children, a pet or two. I spent most of my life building that kind of family—the kind that had been modeled to me, the kind that I read about in my beloved books.

Poor As a Church Mouse

In this forced season of unemployment (300+ applications and not one interview. Seriously.), I have finally learned to slow down a bit. I spend long days writing my memoir and working on my next book. It is a luxury I’ve never had.