R.I.P.

We’re not strangers with Death, not in this house. Over the years we’ve lost family, acquaintances, and friends. And still, every loss hurts as though it’s the first one. Every loss leaves a mark on our hearts. It can’t be denied however that some losses hurt a bit more than others. Some leave marks that will never fade.

That’s where we are this week.

This past Saturday our friend finally succumbed to the cancer that had mercilessly eaten its way through his body. I mentioned him in my post about World Cancer Day in February. Just 18-months after receiving his initial cancer diagnosis, he lost. Despite fighting like hell, he lost.

Thirty-six years old, and now gone forever.

He has left behind a wife, whose heart has been breaking a little more every day for months, as she’s watched the essence of the man she fell in love with fade away.

He’s left behind a daughter who will be celebrating her 2^nd birthday in less than two weeks. A daughter whose memories of her father, for however long she retains them, will be of a man in a hospital bed fighting to stay with her.

He’s left behind a myriad of extend family members and countless friends.

He touched an incredible number of people in his short life.

He’s gone, far sooner than he deserved, and yet he held on longer – far longer – than anyone expected him to.

This weekend we’ll gather with his family, his other friends, his colleagues, and we’ll celebrate the life he had. And we’ll say a final goodbye, even as we know that he’ll live forever in our hearts.