It’s another one of those weeks, when all I touch seems to go awry – even the simplest tasks have monkey wrenches thrown into them, making everything twenty times more aggravating than need be.
Ugh.
Last week, my dad took my mom to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Long story short: my mom had her gallbladder taken out and is home resting and walking around gingerly and having to cope with a new, low-fat diet that is mandatory for her now. It was a very rocky 24 hours in trying to figure out what was wrong with her and seeing if she got through the surgery OK. I was just a nervous, hysterical mess in waiting to hear from my dad . . .
Also last week, a co-worker’s brother died and Mr. Random and I went to visit her while she was sitting Shiva at her home. We were there in time for the evening prayers and tried to follow along as best we could in the prayer books but we don’t know Hebrew so it was a little difficult. There were a few other non-Jews there too, so we didn’t feel too out of place. My co-worker really appreciated the company, the hugs, and the concern of all her friends. It is a shame that most Christian religions don’t have the same ritual – I can see how the week of structured activities can be very helpful and comforting. You allow yourself time and space to fully grieve, and you always have people around you to help support you and take care of things during the big hump of the first week. The rabbi (or assistant rabbi) comes by every night to start the prayers and offer comfort. The whole community is there for you for an extended period. I just thought, wow. That’s cool.
So it’s been a little rough the past few weeks . . .
There IS light at the end of the tunnel. After next Friday, my classes are over for the summer. Whether I’ll be able to take a class in the Fall is up in the air (grumble, grumble) but hey, after I write my 30 page Econ paper, things should get easier.
I look forward to reading more for pleasure and having evenings free, except for the nights I teach ESL.
The weather is beautiful these days. The tons of rain we’ve had, now yields lots of gorgeous green. (Unless you have major allergies, to which I saw – hang in, the blooming season ends soon!)
I send my best wishes out to everyone! I am waving and thinking of you all, even if I'm not writing and visiting much!
2 comments:
guess I should have read this post first! now I know what u been up to
We give short shrift to grief in our culture and people are often pressured to "get over it" or "move on." It's a cruelty. I liek the idea of a "forced" time off to focus fully on the loss.
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