People I know are dying. Like the first leaves that catch a late summer breeze and float away, they are departing this life for whatever follows. It began in late 2009 when my mom passed away. Her death was timely. She had been sick for a long time and her body finally gave in to her many maladies. Last year marked the deaths of two guys who should have lived forever, Vince Lopez and Mark Jansen. This fall we lost two amazing women, Carrie Budd Naas and Suzanne Pierson Dunbar, both in their 40's, both to cancer, and both with two pre-high school aged children.
As I've tried to reconcile these deaths, I've grasped for a metaphor that would help me to understand the question, why now? This evening it came to me. I've reached the fall of my life. By fall, I mean autumn, not fall as in "The Fall of Rome".
In the fall, some of the things that were once vibrant with color begin to dim. Other things reach their full potential in the fall and only then are they able to share the full measure of their gifts with the world. And, unfortunately, some things die in the fall - especially some of the flowers that bloomed most brightly in the spring and summer their lives. This is the natural order of things and it helps me to understand, why now.
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