Summer of Loss

This has felt like a summer of loss. My brother died in July and a longtime friend who was a major influence in both my and my husband’s life died in June. I got word that yet two more people from my high school graduating class died. And to top it off, there were those awful and destructive fires in Spokane, where I lived for so long. A friend graciously emailed to ask me if any of my friends were affected by the fires and after I told him about the ones that were, I went on to vent about my personal losses. Putting it into words helped me but I doubt it did him. After that I decided I need to focus on finding gains to offset all these losses so I’m mentally making a list. Good things that have happened. Kindnesses. Caring experiences. The wonderful Seattle summer weather. The fun vacation we had last week with all thirteen of us in the family together in a big Vrbo. I’m looking for even small things that are positives, like the wonderful local fruit at this time of year, especially the Donut Peaches, for instance. And I’m making a concerted effort to reconnect with several friends who haven’t died. It’s easy to see the losses, not as easy to acknowledge the gains. I’m working on it.

Photo courtesy fietzfotos at Pixabay.com