A Rough Day

It started off badly, got worse and then just settled to a low hum of awful. First thing this morning, my husband told me of an e-mail we’d gotten with a status update on our friend M. I’ve written about her battle with metastatic breast cancer before. She’s in the ICU at a St. Louis hospital with a ventilator tonight. She’s been there since the weekend. The prognosis is, as they say, not good. St. Louis has never seemed  quite so far away.

I sort of fell apart when telling the boy the latest news about our friend. He was kind enough to wrap his 6’7″ wingspan around me and let me cry on his shoulder. It’s the first time I’ve cried in my child’s arms, as opposed to the reverse. Thank God for children, I thought, even when they make us crazy, they’re there for us. Kids can say the same about parents, I suppose.

It was hard to stay focused through the day. Other concerns weigh heavily and I’m eager to get through the week. As Ed said, so perfectly in his e-mail this morning, if you’re Hindu, Enlightened or other, say a prayer, light a candle, take a moment . . . please. Our friend and all who love her need it.