ss_blog_claim=d6f0727c693f11e32c6623835ef02ab7

Saturday, October 10, 2009

How do you prepare for death?

How do you want death to come?

Can we really prepare for it?

When my wife passed away last year, we were in a way prepared for it. We knew it would come, so it wasn’t really a surprise.

But, were we prepared? I thought we were.

We were prepared and accepted the fact the she has to go… that she needs to rest. Later on, we realized that while we were prepared for her ‘departure,’ we weren’t really prepared to live our life without her.

It was a long bout, and every now then, the pain of that reality still hurt.

But we were aware of it coming.

Yesterday, my mother called to tell me a bad news. The eldest son of my cousin died.

He was only 19 years old.

I haven’t seen the boy before really as I seldom see my cousins, but I knew he was healthy.

The boy was on his way home.

He was just crossing the street in front of the subdivision where he lives, when he met an accident – he was run over by an oncoming vehicle.

That was instant. No warning.

I can only imagine the pain that my cousin felt when he heard the news. And I don’t think they were prepared.

How should death really come? Is there really a way to prepare for it?

I don’t think we can.

This only means that we should treasure every living hour that we have. Make it worthwhile. Take every opportunity to show and express our love for our family… because I believe, that is the only way to prepare for death…

…pre-paint it with beautiful memories.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Roy,

Very touching post you got here.
It's really hard to let go something precious. But we know that she's in good hands now.

Roy said...

Hi Jhong!

yes, indeed. she is.

thanks for dropping by

jan geronimo said...

I took care of my bedridden mother for five years. She wasn't able to take care of herself - had a stroke, lost her speech. Even before this, we suspected she had Alzheimer's. I wasn't sure she knew me in her last years with us. Feeding, bathing, telling her stories although she did not let on she understood. But I kept at it. After five years of that, she went away. No drama, no long kiss goodbyes.

I was numb for months. Little did I realize she'd given me the gift of freedom to reclaim my life back. A bittersweet gift it was.

I knew I was losing her every day. First the memories. Then the speech. Then little pieces and signs of vitality. Was I prepared when she left. I wasn't. My mind was, but my whole being wasn't.

Every death diminishes us? That's one hell of an understatement, Roy.

theLastJedi said...

' death may come like a thief in the night.. it's hard to find the right words to console but believe in time, all shall come to pass.. for pain like this never goes away, one will just get used to it..
- thanks for visiting my space.. it's a thrill to know another kapampangan.. =)

zorlone said...

Death is such a harsh reality of life, yet we will all succumb to her embrace.

We just have to be the strong for the ones they left behind.

Z

Share this post