One thing you can always count on in this world is death...sad, but true. And the older you get...the more you see it. Last year, I lost one of my high school friends on February 5th to a suicide, and four years ago on February 12th, my college roommate lost her brother to a car accident. So for my blog today...I would like to repost my blog about my friend from last year, and I'd like to say a little something about my friend who lost her brother.
It was the spring semester of my junior year at college. For whatever reason, I chose to take a full day of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I was up bright and early to get ready for my 8 am class. Before leaving the apartment, I would usually check my email to make sure I hadn't received any emails from professors regarding class that day...and there was an email from my previous roommate. We had a pretty close group of friends involving all of us that lived on the same floor freshmen year - and she had emailed all of us saying: "I might not be around this next week. My brother died last night, so I am going home today and will be there for awhile."
Imagine my shock! First off, I was wondering why in the world she hadn't called all of us immediately rather than emailed...and secondly, I felt such heartache for her losing her brother. I went and woke up my roommate to tell her and then began to call all of our friends who wouldn't have seen the email yet.
Our group of friends came together that night to pray for the family and for her brother...and then within the next few days we went to the visitation. It's so surreal when these things happen, and we did what we could to be there for her...and to help her work through all of the emotions with this tragedy. Within the first few months, I told her that I felt like we could never completely comprehend or "get over" the death of those so close to us...that we would still struggle with it in different ways for the rest of our life.
Last year I received a call from this friend around this time...and when I let our conversation regarding our current life updates up come to a little lull, she finally said why she had really been calling: to remind me that it was the anniversary of her brother's death. I received that same call again this year, and I felt honored to have received it. I'm not sure who else she called, but the fact that she felt like I was someone who would listen and care for her as she once again processes the emotions related to her brother's death was great.
This Friday, I am planning on joining her as she travels to her hometown to visit her brother's grave again. I'm pretty sure it will be emotional...even though it has been four years.
Rest in peace, Joe Hartmann and Mike Winans. You are both still greatly missed.
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