Another One Gone Too Soon

I went to the funeral home yesterday for the 21 year old son of one of my high school classmates. I haven't seen or talked to him since high school, and I didn't know his wife at all ... but I felt compelled to go. He didn't recognize me and I wouldn't have known who he was if I didn't know he was the father.

As I waited in line to talk to them, I realized how far I've come since Davy's showing and funeral. I've still got a long way to go, but I have made progress. The pain of losing my son is still raw, but I don't feel the way this man and his wife now feel. They are in shock, just as I was. The first few weeks and months you're numb with disbelief. You walk around in a fog. You're on autopilot. For the life of me, I can't remember much from last summer and fall.

I don't know how this young man died, and I didn't feel it was my place to ask. It doesn't matter really how he died ... he's gone and there will be a hole in the lives of all those who knew and loved him. My heart goes out to his family. I wish I could say I can only imagine their pain, but I don't have to imagine ... I'm living it.