Life and Death All Mixed Up

It's the end of summer, which means, for one particular group of mothers, tumultuous waves through which to navigate.  

It's all in my sidebar.

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of Katie Gerstenberger's death.  Katie was twelve when she died of cancer, leaving behind a family who celebrates her life with energy and joy and hope.  It was our privilege to meet them when we went to the Pacific Northwest in June, to enjoy their deck and view of the water, and to walk on their beach (without quite as much exuberance as Katie did!).  Katie's mom, Karen West, does incredible work on behalf of children with cancer ~ but, oh, if only she could know nothing about that world.

Today is Joey Johnson's birthday, which his family has had to celebrate without him four times now. His mom, Karen East (although she's in Hawaii at the moment, so that makes her Karen Further West), is Grandma Extraordinaire to a beautiful group of children, but she also writes candidly of what four-plus years is like:

We aren't the same without him. We are not better people for having lost him. I hope one day we will be, but  for now, we are still piecing our new lives together. I think he would wish it so, probably prays it so, but we are not there yet. I do believe he inspires me to press forward, to try to love and give and forgive more, to release the petty things in my heart, But I am more rigid, bristly, sensitive, demanding, disappointed than I would like.

 Alas, I feel as fragile as glass sometimes. 

But I am committed to the path of following truth and love all they way down the road.

 I want to live well and right, to make my son, who is now part of that great cloud of witnesses,  proud of his mama.  

In a few weeks, it will be the anniversary of the terrible loss of Sarah Scherer to a rogue wave off the coast of Italy.    Her mom, Chris, is yet another remarkably strong and hope-filled woman, embracing life with her (still-new!) husband and family and preparing to return to Italy this fall.  She, too, is beginning to ponder these weeks aloud, in this beautiful post. 

I don't know what I would have done had I not met these extraordinary women.  I am so very grateful that each of them came into my life.

And then there's us.  I'm already celebrating Marissa's 25th birthday, which actually takes place in two days ~ I'm also grateful to be the mother of yet another extraordinary woman.  And then on September 1, it will be Matt's and Josh's 28th birthdays, and on September 2, the fourth anniversary of Josh's death.

We are going to enjoy Ris this week-end, and then a week later I'm going to take some time off.  We're heading for a Lake Erie beach state park lodge for September 2-3; we try something different each year. 

Look for some photos ~ happy ones ~ the next couple of weeks.  I'll leave the eloquence to Karen and Karen and Chris.