I cried today. Twice. It’s not that I don’t cry. I am one of those people who cries at the drop of a hat – at movies, tv shows, Hallmark cards –I cry a lot. I am the father that cries at his daughter’s first steps, probably realizing that she is now vertical And mobile – I don’t have a chance!

But today was different. I went to visit my old workplace to have lunch with former coworkers and friends. When I entered the lobby I immediately started a conversation with a friend I knew over the years of working together. We shared a commonality of having gone to high school in the same area in a State several hundred miles away. Her parents still live in the city I grew up in so I always inquire of them first thing in our conversation. Just as I began to joke about her dad having to shovel snow soon- she gently said “my dad died suddenly last week”. I was absolutely stunned, not only by my horrible blunder but by the very fact that this friend had to bury her father just days earlier. I simply began to cry uncontrollably. It just washed over me and I cried. She immediately came up to me and hugged me and quietly kept telling me “it’s ok, it’s ok, you didn’t know”. We never know!

Later in the day I got a call from my mom in Florida. She said she was worried about Hugh, her husband. Technically Hugh is my stepdad but as they got married 18 years ago and he is 95 we kinda let that title ease on by. Mom said that Hugh’s best friend for decades had just called to tell Hugh “goodbye”. Hugh’s friend has struggled with poor health for many years and has been on dialysis 3 times a week. He called to say he was tired of it all, had stopped his treatments and was giving up. He said his doctor told him he would last about one week, so he was calling to tell his best friend goodbye. Mom said that Hugh didn’t say anything, but went out to the porch and sat down and has been silent. I cried. I cried for Hugh as he was losing his best friend. At 95 there aren’t any friends left to share things with anymore. This was going to be very hard for him and my mom.

Carl Sandburg said “Life is like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.”

As I have often stated, my blog is for my grandchildren to read some day to learn about their grandpa. Hopefully they have learned that it is ok to cry. Sometimes it is the only thing to do.