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“You know,” said my husband, “she would have been a good influence for Levi.” Yes, Cristi would have.

Tonight, I found out my cousin’s sister in law, so my cousin’s WIFE’S sister died – at 33 years old. No reason. No explanation. Just died. Thirty three years old.

My aunt and uncle lost a son (my aunt’s step son) when he was in his twenties.

Another aunt and uncle can’t have children.

Divorce.

Death.

Sadness.

My sister, as you may know, died when she was 29. Just turned 29 two months and 6 days before her very untimely death.

Sure, I don’t think about the piercing grief daily, although I think about her daily. My aunt, the one who lost her step-son when he was 20, made a facebook post that she didn’t understand God’s plans.

So much sadness. Is this supposed to make us more thankful for the time we have with the other people we love, when those who we love equally are taken away?

My grandmother has been sick. She’s in her 80s. For some purposes, she’s “lived her life.” But, I don’t feel like I could handle another piece of tragic news so close to home.

That’s the one line that sticks with me from A Time Traveller’s Wife (the book, not the movie). Henry reflects on his life with Claire about how much sadness they faced and how surprised he was that they would even face that much sadness.

Rambling thoughts that point t one thing: my surprise in how much sadness we are faced in our lives. No wonder people call humans resilient.