The Essential Unbearable Truth Of Child Loss

All the fears I thought I knew

All the what-ifs I pondered during inky nights-

None of them-none. of. them. prepared me for this reality.

I have thought many times of my own death. Anyone past twenty-five has to consider that the farther you get from high school the closer you get to the grave.

So I put foolish and risky behavior behind me. Eat right. Exercise.

Wise choices, that's the ticket.

But what about random? What about unexpected? What about lightning strikes and sudden curves?

How do you plan for that?

I know I'll end some day. That's the way of things. And I'm OK with that.

My children.

They are my legacy. They are the keepers of my light.

They are the part of me that will live beyond me.

Except one of them.

I am his legacy-the unanticipated keeper of HIS light.

It's not supposed to be this way.

Yet here I am.

Unnatural. Unacceptable.

Unthinkable.

Inescapably real.