The other day I received some very bad news about a friend…a myeloma friend. So I have not been doing any research…just don’t have it in me right now. “Death” is a word I rarely use…but when someone in the myeloma community dies, I always feel a sense of loss, even if I don’t know that…someone personally. In this case, though, a close correspondent of mine died, so the news hit me even harder, even though it was not entirely unexpected. In the past few days I have been going through a gamut of emotions, which have led me to consider writing a post on death (a big taboo!) and our fear of death…or hey, perhaps NOT! Ok, enough…
I have not been idle, though…indeed, far from it. Yesterday, e.g., Stefano and I did a lot of weeding in our back yard…which was beginning to look more like a jungle than anything else. We filled TWO HUGE bags…just with weeds…amazing. Anyway, there is nothing like physical activity to get your mind off…things…even sadness and grief…
On a lighter note, yesterday I was surprised to see how much our raspberry bush has grown. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like a few dead sticks stuck in the ground, but it has now taken over 80% of the yard, and it is covered with leaves and pretty little white flowers…AND with honeybees! A joyful sight indeed…I had planned to take a photo of it this morning, but it’s raining in Florence…uff.
This morning (and afternoon), I have decided to sit down and plan our end-of-June/early July holiday in the UK…and this evening I am going to play cards with my girlfriends.
So life goes on…and I will be back on track soon! The first thing on my blog “agenda” is to finish (and publish) my Comacchio/Po Delta post…then I will go back to my more serious myeloma research…
When someone whose husband’s blog I read died I hesitated to use the word death because it seemed so harsh but this was strange terrority to me. I wouldn normally have said death or died or even popped their clogs, kicked the bucket, but none of the other softer euphemisms like passed away. I haven’t actually got a fear of death just being ill beforehand! See what you started? Now I’m off to pack for my holiday!
It is indeed sobering to learn of someone’s passing, especially from the same cancer that you have.
We just lost our special kitty Sebastian who was with us for just over 16 years. He started to lose weight; at first we thought it was just normal aging since his appetite and activity level was fine. But we took him to the vet where they ran a battery of tests and found that he had a mass in his belly, probably liver or pancreatic cancer. He started to feel miserable, so we made that very, very tough last choice.
He was a very accepting and non-flappable cat. My wife believes he had an ‘old soul’ and was not quite ‘just a cat’. I tend to agree. I’ve never had a cat who was so un-cat like. He helped out our other sick animals by lying next to them and licking them when they felt low; he could tell. He was also a great comfort to my wife in her troubled times (medical).
It is indeed a sad thing when a treasured friend leaves, but they have enriched us, and that stays with us for as long as we are here. Sebastian was a ‘pound kitty’, so we gave him a loving home for 16 years, when he might have had none.
I understand your feeling completely.