March 7, 2011
There is no easy way to say this. Our friends had a house fire on Friday morning. Two of their children, precious girls ages 6 & 11, died in the fire.
I spent the better part of the weekend organizing an effort to deliver supper meals for the next forseeable future. This timely article at SimpleBites Cooking For Others: A Guide to Giving Sympathy Meals has been very helpful.
Today is much of the same. E-mails, phone calls - connecting with people who are coordinating all kinds of support for the family.
My heart is both numb and heavy with sorrow. I am in shock and yet need to attend to my own home and children. My mind is constantly thinking about our friends and their immense loss. I have never experienced anything like this before and yet my own pain is nothing, absolutely nothing, as compared to the family's.
I am truly at a loss for words. This is a time to love, support, pray, feed and rally around our friends in need. It is also the time to take care of my own children. To love, hold and feed them and be so thankful I am able to do so. I feel terrible that I have something so precious that a friend has lost.
There are no words.
This is not the time for me to write. It's the time to do - cook, love, support, drive, phone, e-mail, coordinate - things that need to be done. To stay busy so I don't have to stop and think for too long.
I may or may not be checking in here this week. Right now anything I would publish (along the lines of what I usually write about) would seem an affront to our friend's loss. Creativity and beauty. The celebration of home, family life and nature - none of that seems appropriate right now, nor does it reflect the pain in my heart.
There are no words.
I appreciate your prayers for the H. family.
