As a family, we have been very blessed to have our parents/grandparents around to walk alongside us through life. We have shared so many special occasions and celebrations and look forward to more in the days to come. But, we’re at a very difficult time right now as Corona is looming all about. It's like a rain cloud that’s waiting to burst. It’s that uncertain footing that seems to cause such unrest.

I started writing the above paragraph on March 30th. It is now April 15th, and much has changed. COVID 19 has hit our family, and the trajectory of our lives has completely shifted. Now, more than ever, we are part of this pandemic and it is tearing us apart.

Words cannot express how each of us is feeling. I can hardly wrap my mind, let alone my emotions around the current events of our world and the fact that it is as close as my own family. So folks, take this seriously! We all know that life can be fragile, especially when we’re hit with something unexpected, like a pandemic. 

I try to write a blog post on Tuesdays, but yesterday was not the right day to write. It was a day of grieving. It’s not that the grieving process has stopped, but my mind has allowed me to process things a little clearer as our family tries to adjust to this tremendous loss. When thinking about my two sets of parents, before yesterday, I always thought they were part of the baby-boomer generation. To my surprise, they are not. They are part of the silent generation. 

I don’t know if I ever heard of that reference, and if so, it certainly didn’t remain in my memory bank. I did a little reading about this generation and found it very interesting. As stated in the link: The Silent Generation Characteristics and Facts You Need To Know, this generation exhibit strong loyalty to their personal beliefs and possess a strong work ethic. It goes on to say characteristics include: discipline, upholding values, gratitude. and appreciation for the ‘simplicities’ in life. From what I know of those four in the above picture, the content of the article appears to be quite true. Certainly, my father-in-law was a man that more than anything, appreciated the simplicity in life, mainly his family.

He loved his family above all else. The water and fishing were a close second, but nothing could take the place of his wife, children, and grandchildren. They were very dear to his heart, and he never shied away from expressing that sentiment.

How do we move on from such a loss?

I suppose we have no choice, but certainly caring for each other is one of the best ways to honor his memory. We will continue to be united and connected, and hope that brings us comfort. There is no doubt he might be a little jealous of not gathering with us because he always wanted to be together. One thing is for sure, it won’t be the same without him!

What else can we do to ease pain during difficult times?

Something I wish we did more of is storytelling. We all have a past, and much of what happened, for instance, before kids, has not been shared. We know a bunch about each other, such as personalities and our likes and dislikes, but what about the stories that formed who we are? They are often left untold, only wondered upon when we look through the album of one's life?

Many of us have been perusing through photo albums and pictures on our phones to recall moments with Pop. While doing so, I’ve come across so many events I haven’t thought about in a very long time. Some of the unexpected consequences of looking through old pictures is coming across a very young version of self- from a long-ago life. And yet, it doesn’t really seem that long ago. My kids probably don’t know many stories about their parents and grandparents and it’s kind of fun to talk about the history of then. I think that is why so many of us are drawn to the TV show, This Is Us. I love that show as it follows the life of Jack and Rebecca. It portrays their past and present life and illustrates how past encounters formed the family structure. We all have our own version of ‘this is us’.

But for now, we grieve, we share, and we remember.

We remember a man that influenced each of us in similar ways and unique ways.

He created a life, that for the most part, was like a beautiful dream.

I think his life was a wish come true. Sure, there might have been other things he wanted to do or accomplish, but I tend to think that he loved the life he lived and wouldn’t change much, if anything.

He will be sorely missed, that is for certain.