A Corner Table in My World

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 ...

To many people it will have seemed as though the Corner Table Family simply disappeared off the face of the planet in 2018. At least so far as our blog presence suggests anyways. You’ll have seen us online if we’re connected on Facebook, and if we’re connected IRL you’ll know that though we’ve been quieter, we are alive and kicking. 2017 was, to be blunt, a killer year for us. It was full of extreme highs: Little Sister’s wedding, Little Prince’s arrival, and Baby Bee’s birth to name a few. But it was highlighted by a number of extreme lows. Little Prince’s Spring birth and the fear and uncertainty that clung to us like living shadows for months after. Grandpa’s accident on the farm last fall and the outright terror we experienced during the days immediately following. Auntie Ell’s declining health throughout the year, and her eventual death in December. Then just before Christmas the foundation of our world here in the Corner Table House was rocked to the cor...

November 11 th is always a time of reflection. Or it should be. You don’t have to be sad and cry, just take a moment and reflect. You don’t have to go to any ceremony, just think. You don’t have to share your thoughts, your feelings, your history, or whatever. Just remember. Remember that while war protects, it ravages; it kills; it destroys. Remember all the reasons that wars have been fought in the past, it’s successes and it’s failures. Remember that whatever the reasons, wars are fought by men and women, just like you and me, who have families that still feel their loss. Today of all days, just remember.