Forgotten Staircase- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

Forgotten Staircase- Longwood Gardens- Digital Painting by Tracey Grumbach

It's so difficult watching your children and your friend go through unimaginable pain and not be able to help them. This weekend we said goodbye to my daughter's friend and classmate and my friend's son as he was laid to rest.  I felt so incredibly helpless and inadequate. As if the weather was mourning with us, it was cool and damp and rainy for most of the two days the services were held. In late July in Maryland, the weather should almost certainly be dry and hot.  But, it wasn't and somehow it felt right that the warmth should slip away and the heavens should rain.

The parents and sisters of my daughter's friend were simply incredible. I just don't how else to put it. They stood for hours upon hours greeting countless hundreds of people that came to pay respects. Whenever a friend of their son would approach and have a difficult time, they would wrap them up in their arms, comfort them and tell them they loved them. My friend gave the eulogy for her son in the most eloquent and classy way never stammering once in her loss. At the gravesite, after the service, the father stood out in the rain hugging and thanking every single person who came. It truly was an incredible experience and inspiration to see these parents and sisters handle this tragic event with such grace. This young man was so loved by them and his friends and his community that we will all be off-kilter for a long time to come. But none so much as his family...the family that reached out to the community that supports them and comforted us.

It's sad in its own way that it takes a horrible event such as a death to remind us how important community is. We should be this supportive of each other every day, no matter what. But life, petty arguments, past grievances, and other negativity gets in the way. I hope this is a stark reminder that we all need each other, we all have in impact in raising our children, caring for our elderly, and comforting those experiencing pain. This weekend I was reminded that out of pain blossoms great beauty. Sometimes that is so difficult to see and find in today's world.

Have a loving Monday, everyone.