Sadness

After I came in from my walk at lunch, the whole staff was called into our large conference room for an emergency meeting. Some people looked worried, others looked irritated, some even looked amused. I partially expected to hear that someone had quit to move onto another job somewhere else. I wish it would have been that. When I walked into the large room, I noticed one of the girls was crying, no sobbing. This can’t be good, I thought.

Then the bad news came. Our CEO announced that we had “lost” one of our family today – one of our own. Our beloved friend Marie had suddenly died earlier today. We don’t know how or why. The men just stared in disbelief while the women all cried. I cried then and on and off for the next few hours. She was only 32. She left behind a husband and a 2 year old son. I knew Marie since I started working at my office 9 years ago. I knew her before she had kids, before she was married. We talked about Disney World and Harry Potter, which we both loved, and how much fun our toddlers were. I’m still in shock that she’s gone. She will be dearly missed by all of us.

Later on in the day, I learned that Marie’s mother died when she was very young. Marie herself had been raised by her father alone. Now the same thing will happen to Marie’s son. The irony is chilling. I know he is only 2, but I hope that he will remember how wonderful his mother was.

I’m sad and tired from all of the crying. Thank you for understanding. Good night.