Viva la Vida

I should have written this sooner; I meant to, but got caught up.

My best friend Sheryl's dad passed away this past Saturday. He had fallen and broken his hip on February 22 and had surgery the next day. The surgery seemed to go well from what the doctors said, but he was in a lot of pain even after leaving the hospital. He was in and out of the hospital and rehab a few times after the surgery. This is all in addition to not being in the greatest health to begin with – he had multiple strokes in the past and had been in a wheelchair the last few years. He was at home when he passed, which is apparently where he wanted to be. He didn't want to be in a hospital or something. He was 67.

I was over at a friend's house Saturday night when I just missed a call from Sheryl. I called her back and she was just silent for a moment; I could tell something was wrong. She cried, telling me her dad had died and asked me to drive her to her parents since she didn't think she could do it. I got down there as quickly as possible, of course. I was pretty surprised, honestly. I knew he hadn't been doing too well after the hospital, but I wasn't expecting this. Apparently it wasn't too unexpected, and Sheryl did have time to see him and tell him she loved him in the weeks prior. Still, you always feel like you could have done more.

My heart's broken from the whole situation, and I can't even imagine what it's like to lose a parent. I felt pretty helpless, didn't know what to say, so I just did whatever I could to help. Hug. Listen. Love. Bring Starbucks.

The funeral was yesterday at 10:30AM. She asked me to be a pallbearer.

As I said before, “Enjoy your loved ones and the little connections you make with others' loved ones.” Tell them you love them, now.

Time is so short

And I'm sure

There must be something more

Those who are dead are not dead

They're just living in my head

– “42” by Coldplay