Clown Day at Preschool...We stayed up late on Thursday night making a clown costume for him. Together...a team...her and me. It's what we did...what I always thought we would do together.
I guess he liked it...never got to see his reaction in person...gone to work by the time he awoke. I hated missing things like that.
Susan was always good about trying to make me feel like I was there when I couldn't be. She sent me this picture...last e-mail I got. I just replied...Thanks that made me smile so big.
Just like she made him smile in this last photo. It's hard to look at this...to realize she is making him laugh because she is full of life...and hours later he will be crying because she's not.
I stare at it and wonder what she was saying. I would give anything to have that one last full day with her...to know what happened. How she spent it...who she talked to...what she said.
Anything to understand her day. But what I have is this final photo on our camera, some fuzzy memories of a four and six year old and a few e-mails she sent...all happy...all funny...all her.
It's ironic, but on that Thursday night we sat in bed and talked for about an hour before we fell asleep. We talked about how I needed to get up for work earlier...she was tired of me rushing in the morning. I kept explaining that I just loved the feeling of waking up next to her...how our feet and legs tangled together as we both shook off sleep. But I promised I would try to be better.
That morning I woke twenty minutes early...so early she was still in the haze of sleep. I kissed her three times...said I love you...and left as she rolled over. I know she heard, but I wish I had that twenty minutes back...I would have said so much more...
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Her Flame
We made a home out of our love...
It exploded with joy...
You could feel it...
As you walked through our door...
That love was her...
There was a sense...a happiness...
A feeling...that fell on all of us...
Of firsts...not lasts...
Everything is changed...
We simmer now...
Waiting to boil over...to explode again...
But there is no flame to ignite it...
It exploded with joy...
You could feel it...
As you walked through our door...
That love was her...
There was a sense...a happiness...
A feeling...that fell on all of us...
Of firsts...not lasts...
Everything is changed...
We simmer now...
Waiting to boil over...to explode again...
But there is no flame to ignite it...
Friday, June 24, 2011
Threshold
I feel like I've crossed a Threshold...the pain is different now. In the beginning I had the security of being numb...that's gone. Reality shows it's face more often...the awe has worn down...not away, but down.
The shock froze me in the first month...it was cold...it kept me paralyzed. Slowly it has thawed...and with it the magical thinking of her returning and my denial have melted away. I'm left now with the absoluteness of her death. She's gone...not for a run...not for work...not for the day...not for the night...forever.
There won't be another touch...another smile...another glance...another whisper...another shared moment.
I'm much more aware of her absence...I feel the pain more intensely now...it can't be denied any longer.
The shock was a protection. I was feeling sorrow for longer periods in the beginning, but not with this intensity...because I was numb.
The pain was a mile long and an inch deep...now it's a inch long and a mile deep. I have longer breaks between grief waves, but now they strike like a tsunami...quick and powerful and devastating.
The shock froze me in the first month...it was cold...it kept me paralyzed. Slowly it has thawed...and with it the magical thinking of her returning and my denial have melted away. I'm left now with the absoluteness of her death. She's gone...not for a run...not for work...not for the day...not for the night...forever.
There won't be another touch...another smile...another glance...another whisper...another shared moment.
I'm much more aware of her absence...I feel the pain more intensely now...it can't be denied any longer.
The shock was a protection. I was feeling sorrow for longer periods in the beginning, but not with this intensity...because I was numb.
The pain was a mile long and an inch deep...now it's a inch long and a mile deep. I have longer breaks between grief waves, but now they strike like a tsunami...quick and powerful and devastating.
Some days I'm still provided with the blissful ignorance of shock. It happens for short moments...second long snapshots...where I think I hear her...or something happens and I can't wait to tell her.
But in the end...I'm left with my thoughts...my memories...and the confusion of this new life I'm trying to accept...trying to understand...trying to make work. Someday it will feel different...but not today.
But in the end...I'm left with my thoughts...my memories...and the confusion of this new life I'm trying to accept...trying to understand...trying to make work. Someday it will feel different...but not today.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
My Brain is Off
My brain is off.
I can't seem to remember even the simplest things...or the most important ones.
I jump from task to task...starting a lot...but finishing little.
My energy runs from kinetic to lethargic within the same minute.
My ups are industrious...but short lived.
My downs are listless...and repetitive.
I want to find a medium...a balance...but every time I feel close...the scales tip.
My brain is off...but my life is on...and I can't keep up.
I can't seem to remember even the simplest things...or the most important ones.
I jump from task to task...starting a lot...but finishing little.
My energy runs from kinetic to lethargic within the same minute.
My ups are industrious...but short lived.
My downs are listless...and repetitive.
I want to find a medium...a balance...but every time I feel close...the scales tip.
My brain is off...but my life is on...and I can't keep up.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Our Balls
If you knew Susan...you know why she would have loved this...
Random Conversation on Our Driveway Tonight.
Ben: Luke give me my ball back!
Luke: Why???
Ben: My ball is better than yours...
Luke: It's not a NBA ball...
Ben: Yours either...
Luke: Mine says NBA on it!
Me: Stop fighting....please guys...stop...
Ben: Why?!? We're just talkin' about our balls!
Random Conversation on Our Driveway Tonight.
Ben: Luke give me my ball back!
Luke: Why???
Ben: My ball is better than yours...
Luke: It's not a NBA ball...
Ben: Yours either...
Luke: Mine says NBA on it!
Me: Stop fighting....please guys...stop...
Ben: Why?!? We're just talkin' about our balls!
EELS - Little Bird - from END TIMES - out now!
Sometimes songs say it better than I can...goddamn...I miss that girl...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
112 Days
People tell me it's only been three months...give yourself time...
It's been 112 days.
How can you go a 112 days without the person you shared the last 12 years with?
112 days without sharing a goodnight kiss...
112 days without sharing a good laugh...
112 days without sharing our joys...
112 days without sharing our boys...
112 days without sharing the workload...
112 days without sharing the stress....
112 days without sharing...even one...with the woman I love...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My Oldest
My boys are four and seven...but they are older now.
My oldest is wise beyond my understanding. In many ways he has become my partner in this journey.
At first, I was scared of the pressure on him...to prop me up at times...to understand I wasn't angry...just frustrated...not at him...but at our new life.
He holds up my younger son as well...comforting...explaining...leading...
I see his mother in his tender touch as he soothes his brother through sadness...
I see his mother in his eyes when he looks to guide me in my moments of madness...
He senses my loneliness...he aches for me at times...and with me at others...
He doesn't know when it will hit...so he watches over me...he hovers...
He tries to fill her absence...always there...
He learned from her...to be full of care...
My oldest helps us cope...
As we wait for hope...
I hope it's not too much for one little man to do...
Oh Luke...so special...we live because of you...
My oldest is wise beyond my understanding. In many ways he has become my partner in this journey.
At first, I was scared of the pressure on him...to prop me up at times...to understand I wasn't angry...just frustrated...not at him...but at our new life.
He holds up my younger son as well...comforting...explaining...leading...
I see his mother in his tender touch as he soothes his brother through sadness...
I see his mother in his eyes when he looks to guide me in my moments of madness...
He senses my loneliness...he aches for me at times...and with me at others...
He doesn't know when it will hit...so he watches over me...he hovers...
He tries to fill her absence...always there...
He learned from her...to be full of care...
My oldest helps us cope...
As we wait for hope...
I hope it's not too much for one little man to do...
Oh Luke...so special...we live because of you...
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