Riding the loops

Life is a roller coaster ride, ups and downs, and loop de loops, when you think of all of the good times you have throughout a life time, you smile right? Memory or recall makes you smile, as various moments replay in your head?

And when you think of the bad times you've experienced your face will reflect the emotion you feel as you look back. Sadness, disappointments, grief, they affect us all.

3 very different deaths came to light this week at work. It played out enough so that reflections been an ongoing thing. We had the man that shot himself, another who used to share our office suite with us passed from bladder cancer, and another passed from a several year brain cancer, two of them were close to me in age. Spouse's calling to inform us, so very little that's adequate that you can say, other than the truth: I am very sorry to hear this news of your loss, can we do anything to help the family?

You come home tired, and know your own family's vulnerablities, and you blank/erase your head of any fleeting concerns as you know you're not strong enough to have any of this happen to your family.
Family is a lovely thing, like a flower from inner tier to outter rim, it has so many people/petals as the flower unfolds, no two petals are alike, and yet it take all of those petals to make such a beautiful flower. It is a beautiful flower. Maybe it has a thorn or two but it is still so pretty you can't help but feel the awe of it. You love each and every petal for it's uniqueness, for it's contribution.
Now if you're married then you have two flowers, two unique entities, they can be amazingly different and similar at the same time.
Now throw on all of those extended flowers arrived at from extended family members and you've got yourself quite a bouquet. And the bouquet is awesome.
These flowers bring meaning and happiness to your life, maybe some thorns, but you learn how to navigate around them, don't you?