Dawn left us behind

A teacher from our tiny school died over the Thanksgiving weekend. A woman of science, who clung to the obligations and responsibilities of educating her students to carry her through her husband's very recent suicide. We shared meals, and I cooked a few extra for her and for her son, who now is in the hands of a distant, greiving family. It seemed to help her through the shock, knowing that people care. I recognized that state of suspended animation in her: of having your entire life shattered, and being left to pick up all the shards, alone. She seemed to be healing, she was becoming optimistic, she wore makeup again. Recently it's been a new day, and there are holidays to celebrate in a new way, just the two of them.

After the van rolled off the cliff, 300 feet down the brittle rock, she stayed alive long enough to know her son was in good hands. Thank God for the man who found her son. The man knew he would be returned to Mexico, and still stayed with the boy. Thank God for the mother she was.

I miss my new friend. My arms already ache to hug and encourage her as she blossoms back into her self. I have so much sorrow for a good and kind woman who was heaped on with what was described as an un-godly amount of struggle and turmoil. I have hope for her son, and my heart is broken for him also. I surrender to knowledge that I will not ever understand why she has been taken from us now, ... and I will not ever understand why loss is so mundane and routine for this region.

God bless you Dawn. Thank you for the short visit.