My Sweet Fern

My best friend Fern lost her mother early Tuesday morning after a long illness. When Fern called me early on Tuesday morning and told me her mother had passed it took me back to last July when I called her to say my dad had died. Fern and David were over in minutes.
As I made them soup and dessert for dinner and drove to Fern's house I saw a magnificent sunset and thought about Fern and how deep the pain is right now. I remember thinking when my dad died that people came to sit shiva with us and they were sad with us and for us, but when they left the house, they went back to their lives, work, family, their daily lives. I couldn't go back to daily life, I was frozen in incredible sadness, I was jealous they got to go back to life as it was before and my life was never going to be the same again. Last night was my turn to go and be sad but I left and went back to my life and Fern and her families life will never be the same.
Death is sad, the pain is so deep and lasts so long. Fern called me everyday after my dad died and still does. I told her on Tuesday how much that meant to me and how she helped me to get through each day of my life without my dad. Now I will return the favor. I told her our mothers taught us well. Rest in peace Marcia. I love you Fern.