An answer to a Blisstory question

"Write about the loss of someone close to you…"
submitted by Bliss Networker, Jeff Williams

I never thought about it much before reading this question, but I guess I should consider myself very lucky. Until this year I had never experienced the death of someone close to me.

I’ve witnessed car accidents where people have died, but I wasn’t close to them. I’ve been through hurricanes, tornadoes and all sorts of natural disasters, and people have died there too, but I wasn’t close to them. In high school some kids died in a car accident, but I wasn’t close to them either.

As a kid my Aunt died of cancer when she was 40, but I wasn’t close to her. My sister died when she was an infant, but I wasn’t close to her. My Uncle died of some rare disease he contracted while he was fighting in World War II, but I wasn’t close to him. All my Grandparents have died, one by one over the years, but I wasn’t really very close to any of them.

Through my line of work I have seen people have heart attacks and strokes, been stabbed or shot, cut in half by a train or burned to a crisp in a fire…but I wasn’t close to any of them.

You see, it isn’t that I haven’t seen more than my fair share of misery in my 47 years, it’s just that I’m really not that close to very many people.

This year though, my streak has sadly ended.

In August my Mother died after a short, but devastatingly painful bout with cancer. She was not young, like so many of the others that I have witnessed dying were. She was not a victim of a crime or a natural disaster. To the firefighter who transported her to the hospital, I’m sure that like so many times in my life, she was just another patient that he knew wouldn’t make it.

I won’t go into the details of her death, that’s not what really matters. What really matter are the details of her life. She was a friend, companion and wife to my Dad for 33 days shy of 55 years. She was the Mother to four children, three of which were at her bedside as she drew her last breath. She was a Grandmother, an Aunt, and a Sister. She was a devoted religious woman who’s last words uttered were the prayer of Last Rites.

To me she was more than a Mother; she was a friend and confidant. Even though we were at opposite ends of the political spectrum, we respectfully argued our viewpoint, knowing of course that each of us was right. We both loved to cook and often shared recipes or tips. We both enjoyed spirituality, again very differently, but with a mutual respect for each others different take on life.

Yes, my Mother was a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to me, this year, she was the first person that I was truly close to that I have lost.