On loving and losing

This past week has been a week that I will never forget.

I have not known what to do with myself but write. The only thing I can do now is to stop and reflect and remember.

On Thursday, I received a call that shook my life and left me heartbroken.

The world lost Tom a week ago today.

We lost someone who was full of laughter, who was ready and willing to accept any challenge, and who was kind beyond every expectation. He gave freely and loved others well.

He has long been a bright star in my sky and I am forever grateful to have known him. We first met in New Zealand, traveled parts of Nepal together, and in May, he traveled to NC to see and experience the world I live in here.

The only thing I have been able to take heart in in these hard times is knowing this–

I knowing me today, you know Tom. You know the person who helped shape me into the person I am today.

I have memories and stories that will continue to live and be shared forever. And, they are more precious now than ever.

“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”- Anne Lamott