By David M. Crockwell, Guest Columnist
How do you say “goodbye” to someone who was your whole life?
Someone who was always there to support and protect you against life’s trying
times? Someone who was there to share in your laughter … your tears … your joys and sorrows?
The happiness that one brings with them when you first meet … the camaraderie … the endless conversation that never seems to end ... the funny stories of their youth … their hopes and dreams ... they all seem to fit your life perfectly.
The love that seems never to end … the elation one feels when that person enters the room … the peace of knowing that that person is the one who makes life matter. The happiness of knowing that person feels the same towards you.
The knowledge that God always places someone in your life that you need at that moment. They stay for a day … a week … a lifetime … and leave emotions within your soul that comfort and protect your being.
And then one day … they are gone.
You wake up one morning and realize that life is never going to be the same. The things you wanted to share with them that happened during your day. The telephone calls that made your day worthwhile. They have all ended.
You enter your home and expect to find your loved one there … but all you find is emptiness and the feeling that you are alone ... and will be for the rest of your life.
The sweet calls of “Hello … how was your day?” … are never to be heard again. The sound of your loved one’s voice is stilled and will only remain in your memory.
The unexpected phrases your loved one used … are suddenly and unmercifully heard from someone else’s lips. The feeling of total hollowness within your own soul is making you aware that life is never going to be the same.
Their passing is the most difficult entity that anyone can experience. You go through the closet, and the scent of their cologne rips through your heart as a knife. You find belongings that bring back such emotions you feel as though you are going to find them standing behind you … and you turn … only to be disappointed that they are not there … and never will be again.
They say that “time is a great healer” … but … with their passing there is a hole in your heart that will never be filled … and that you must go on … alone.
I write this with a heavy heart, as the one person who made a difference in my life suddenly disappeared. No “goodbye” … no “see you later” … just gone.
Life is never going to be the same … I realize that … but the loss of your best friend … your buddy … your pal ... is unforgiving. I must go on until it is “my time” … and then I pray we will meet again … and I will be able to forgive my loved one for leaving.
The writer is a resident of Marble.