Tough Sunday

[HardDrive]

Feeling good, I wake up lazy, and head to Lowes to pickup some more Christmas lights. As I am leaving, I see my neighbor, the husband walking up his driveway. I only took note because he has not been around, both he and his kids, one college age and one in HS, have been absent. The wife has been living in the house alone, and has looked worse and worse over the past couple months. She has a history of addiction issues, and we were speculating she had relapsed.

I come home a couple hours later, to find 3 police cruisers, and people I do not recognize standing in their driveway, the woman was crying. My heart sinks. A detective unit shows up, and the detectives get out, and one of the is carrying a camera. When I left the house, I did not know that my neighbor was about to walk into his house, and find his wife dead. Cause unknown, grapevine says the call was for a person that was 'unresponsive'.

We have known these folks for 11 years, our kids are the same age. My wife and daughter were not here, I was giving them the play by play via text, and later phone calls. The Franklin County Coroner shows up, then later a non-descript van shows up, and men get out, one of them carrying a body bag. I watch as they bring her out and take her away. My daughter calls me sobbing, but not about this, she went out to her car, and discovered that someone had broken in, and stolen some items. I assure her we will fix everything, and get her a new coat. She feels better.

I sat there with my car still full of new Christmas decorations, watching all of this unfold over the course of the afternoon, numb from what i was seeing, and deeply thankful for the problems I do not have.

[pwd72s]

Happens frequently...remember when it happened to the neighbor across the road. He'd decided to drink himself to death. He succeeded at age 64...same basic scene.

[unclebilly]

Sorry to hear this. Really sorry.

[MMiller]

HD, sorry to hear of all this but your final thought is a perfect reminder... thank you.

Originally Posted by HardDrive

........ deeply thankful for the problems I do not have.

[Chocaholic]

My dad used to say…the more I hear about the problems of others, the happier I am to have mine.

[Crowbob]

Yep.

You put 10 people in a circle and have them throw all their troubles into the center you're gonna see some bodily injury with everyone scrambling to get their own troubles back.

[Bill Douglas]

Yep, in your own life don't sweat the little things.

[flatbutt]

It seems to happen a lot during this time of year.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

…and deeply thankful for the problems I do not have.

We are all blest in our own way. Sometimes we need something like this to remind us of it.