Today was a day of mourning in community. I expect that tomorrow may bring more of the same. Well, actually, we may be mourning for a while.Last spring I wrote of a friend whose very full life was a testimony to LIVING with cancer. Yesterday, Gena moved to another life, one free of the constraints of this earthly life. And the rest of us... we began living a life without Gena. I believe that Gena is actually still with us, we just need to develop a new way of relating. It's going to take some practice.
Today's practice sessions involved learning how to confirm Gena's passing with the grief-filled voices on the other end of the phone line. My first try didn't go so well. "I'm calling to confirm something my daughter heard," he said. "Yes, she heard correctly. Mrs. Rohlfs died yesterday afternoon," I said... at least that's what I intended to say! It took three tries to complete the sentence. By the end of the day, I could do that pretty well. I could offer comfort without being the first one to cry. But, oh, cry we did. And, cry we will.
Tomorrow we'll answer more questions, share more Kleenex and tell more stories. Tonight, I need to be quiet for a while. Gotta go. I think I'm going to cry, AGAIN.
3 comments:
Hello. I am a student of Mrs.Evans. When I got the news that Mrs.Rohlfs passed away, I was devastated. I think it was very nice to remember her and thank her. I went to her funeral and now realize that I shouldn't be sad, but grateful that I had the opportunity to have her as a teacher, even if only for 5 months.
Please remember that even if you didn't have Mrs. Rohlfs in your classroom for the whole year that you are ALWAYS one of her kids! That's a very special group. And, I think we can be sad and grateful at the same time, I am!
That is a very good peice of advise. I also feel that way. Sorry about posting 5 months too late. : )
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