loss

everyone experience's loss in their life. when someone of fame or notable importance dies we see extensive news coverage. each day people pass on from this life on to whatever is next. with the passing of sen. kennedy this week and michael jackson in recent weeks, loss has been the dominant theme of news coverage. if you have not experienced loss you are one of the lucky few. i cannot count myself one of the lucky. i have lost people in my life that were extremely close to me but one in particular changed my life forever. when i was 14 my grandfather passed away, he was the the main role model in my life. he was that paternal figure in my life. i spent summers fishing in creeks, building things in his workshop, growing things in the garden. it was a man teaching the life lessons he learned growing up to his grandson. when he passed it created a void that now, almost 10 years later has yet to be filled. this summer i got my first tattoo. it's on my ankle and says grandpa in hebrew. i always said i would never get a tattoo because i would get bored with whatever it was and regret having it on my body forever. one day i realized that the only thing that i would never regret is a tribute to the greatest man i've ever known.

last summer when my father passed away i found a poem that rang so true. that we may miss those that are gone so much it can make our heart truly ache we must take light in what is left behind. the memories in our hearts the precious photos and keepsakes. the love that was shared. i know that the most treasured things i own are those that link to my papaw, as i called him. i still miss him everyday when i look at his photo on my dresser. but i remember all the things he left behind.

"What through the radiance that was once so bright, be now forever taken from my sight. Though nothing can break back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind." -William Wordsworth