Some sad days

We had sad news a couple weeks ago. My aunt passed away unexpectedly. It's never easy to say good bye to a loved one, but it was very difficult watching my uncle and cousins deal with their shock and grief--just knowing they were looking at the empty days ahead without this woman who was such a huge part of their lives. When I think of her and my uncle I think of them as best friends. Married for 41 years, but still looking forward to each others company every day. Now, I'm running out of time to be married for that long, but if I ever have a 40th anniversary I hope my husband looks at me the way my uncle looked at my aunt. And I hope I take care of that future husband like my aunt took care of her man.
My parents came home for the funeral and Michael and I got to host them for about a week and a half. It was so nice for Michael to get to spend some time with his Grandpa and Grandma. Theirs were the first names out of his mouth every morning and he could barely contain himself until he located both of them and then made sure they knew he had a tractor and a ball ready to be played with the minute they finished their coffee.
The last two weeks sure had me thinking about the two ends of life. Here's my son, forming these strong, life-time bonds with people. The same kind of bonds that take part of ourselves with them when we have to let go. But we still know, even through the loss, that we are so much richer for every person we let into our world and into our life. No matter how long we get to keep them.