Samuel's Mom

This wasn't what I was intending to blog about today. What I was intending to blog about was something all together different. But then I received an email that Samuel's mother had died.

I don't expect you to know Samuel. He just an average boy Geo's age- blond hair and in the first grade. He was in kindergarten with Geo and his mom was sick from the very beginning of school that year.

And I don't expect you to know his mother either.  I didn't really know her that well myself, but she had battled cancer before and was hopeful about the outcome this time round as well.

She was always happy when I saw her- genuinely happy to be at school, taking part in Samuel's day, enjoying the moment of being of a mom. She wore bright pink, and I mean hot pink, bandanas to cover her head and asked me how I fix my hair so she could try out the style when her hair grew back in. Her hair never really grew back in.

LK took dinner to them one night. I made it but, for whatever reason now I can't remember, I couldn't take it to them. He said they were such nice people. And every time I'd see them as I took the boys to gymnastics, they always seemed happy.

But now Samuel is 6 going on 7. And his mom is gone. And his loss has hit me hard- frankly harder than expected in regards to the loss of a casual acquaintance.

And I don't have any great philosophical point to make by posting this.  Maybe this is just an outlet for the question of "why" that death at an early age tends to bring. Maybe this is just a way to be remember the joy she had in the moments of motherhood, knowing her time might not be long with him.  Maybe this is me, trying to remind myself that while I am not in a battle against an illness for my life, my time is not guaranteed.  Maybe this is just a reminder to myself to drink in the moment.