Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium as seen from the old Herndon Stadium

A Challenging Week

You know how last week I said I'd had a productive couple of weeks? This past week wasn't as good.

I'm posting this photo from Herndon Stadium because it reminds me a little of the devastation of the heart that so many people are experiencing all the time.

You never, ever know what someone is going through so it's good to extend a little grace to that grumpy person who just cut you off in traffic. Maybe they're just not able to give it their full attention at the moment. 

On Thursday, I attended the funeral of a friend's young son who should have been graduating high school this month. He was killed in a car accident. 

Devastating. 

This is not the way I like to gather with dear friends. It was a truly sad day that his parents will never get over. The priest was a friend of the family and that's one of the few times I've attended a mass where the priest could hardly hold it together. I brought tissues but not nearly enough. 

My heart ached for the family in such shock and despair at the loss of their beloved son. I worked on Friday but I can't say my heart was in it. I was still thinking about my friend and her family. 

Friday, I finally got a rental car to drive while my car is in the shop from when my neighbor hit it last Saturday while it was parked in front of my house. My son had taken me to the rental car place on Thursday so I could grab a car and drive down to the funeral. 

Instead, they told me they were out of cars and to come back Friday. My son let me take his car to the funeral instead. 

Another Friend

I've had a few questions and some things I wanted to talk about with a very old friend I've reconnected with over the years. Some of my earliest memories include him because he was my neighbor between the ages of 4-7. We'd lost touch over the years but reconnected on social media about 13 years ago.

His name is John and he lives out in LA. We recently started talking on the phone, catching up on old friends, and old times, and talking about all the stuff that happened in the intervening years when we'd lost touch.

I knew about some of his life through his thoroughly enjoyable memoir The Wrecking Crew which he wrote back in 2005. 

I text him before I call because he said he never looks at his phone when it rings. I picked up my phone on Saturday to text him when a notification came across on my phone from Facebook. 

I saw the first part of the notification and it said, "We knew him as JJ..." That's all I could see but my heart sank. John was JJ when we were in elementary school. 

I went to my computer because I hate looking at FB from my phone. I clicked on the notification and it took me to a group I'm in for my old elementary school. 

No. No. No. 

There was a photo of John when he was about 10 and underneath it said, "He was JJ to us. RIP to one of the coolest kids at our school." I stood there staring at it hoping it was some sort of mistake. 

How could that notification have come through just as I was about to text him? 

I'm devastated for his young son who's about 9. John and his son spent a lot of time together. They were very close. I can only imagine what his son is going through right now. 

John's death was a reminder that you never know the time or the hour. He had a massive heart attack and was gone, just like that. 

We tend to live as if we're never going to die but it's a good idea to keep in mind that tomorrow isn't a given. Hug your loved ones tight. 

I hope you have a good week. 

See you between the raindrops. 

xoxo,
Susan