Life is so Fragile

A classmate of the Dolly lost her father over the weekend.

Though I had only seen the classmate's parents once in school, I remembered him smiling at me when we both realised our kiddos were classmates. That was only 3 weeks ago, at the Parents-Teacher-Meeting. Who would have thought his family would have to endure such a tragic loss so soon in the future and that he, would have to pass so suddenly, leaving behind a young wife and a few kids.

When I was notified of the sad news via whatsapp, I was in disbelief for a long while. But the news came from the classmate's mum, whom I have only met once at the same occasion, so it could not be a prank. Though we can hardly be considered friends, more like acquaintances, I still felt an indescribable sense of sadness for the man and his loved ones.

I cannot even imagine how the surviving spouse would cope, but yet, I know, as a mother to four young children, she would find in her, the immense strengths to do that; perhaps just to survive in the beginning, but eventually, she would find ways to live. I hope so.

And for the kids.... I have also been so sad for the kids. The youngest is only 4. I kept looking at my Dolly and wondered if she would understand the loss if such tragedy happened to us. To lose a loving parent at this tender age, to never hear and see the the papa again, must be such a painful memory and difficult experience for these young hearts to endure.

It is yet another reminder of truly how fragile life is and how we must never take for granted what we have. Just last month, I also learnt of the passing of the mum of one of Chip's kindergarten classmates. The kids in that family are 9 and 12... not exactly much older. They had time to bid farewell and communicate all last wishes, unlike the family of Dolly's classmate.

For both cases, I explained to my 3 kids and told them the truth. I even explained to Dolly so she could think of how her friend may feel right now.

In times like this, it really puts things into perspective and reminds us to reflect on what truly matters to us at the end of the day.