Bittersweet.

(The sunset on Saturday)

This weekend gave me a mix of emotions. Thanksgiving is typically a time where joy and happiness exist alongside good food and time well spent with family and loved ones. This year, however, I found myself discovering news of an old friend's passing. This was a person I had met in high school and carried our friendship into college. Someone I saw quite often as he was roommates with my then boyfriend.

Upon hearing this news I literally felt my heart sink. It was as if someone took a cinder block and pushed it on my chest. Memories instantly flooded my mind and the thought of what this person's family and close friends were experiencing made my stomach turn. Such a young life lost.


Since undergrad we have grown a part, but it blew my mind how learning such devastating news took me straight back in time to a place where all of the memories seemed so vivid. It was as if they had just occurred.  I found myself thinking a lot about old days and missing lots of people I don't see or speak to much anymore.

Gratitude was an interesting concept this Thanksgiving. It certainly wasn't the traditional reflection of sharing what I was grateful for. In fact, I had a hard time really verbalizing my gratitude, but I knew it was there because I could feel it. I was sad for the news I had heard but I was also thankful. Thankful for the people who have crossed my path. Even if it was a brief moment in time it was real. I am thankful that I am typing this sentence. That I am blessed to live a life with a good circle of people. I am thankful. The only thing guaranteed in life is death. It's what makes living worthwhile.

In facing the reality of death this weekend I also was reminded of the gift of life. My sister-n-law gave birth to a baby boy, Declan Michael, on Saturday evening. (That's where my mix of emotions comes in). The joy and happiness that baby brought to our family this weekend brought tears to my cheeks and a blanket of warmth wrapped around my heart.

 I was reminded once again this weekend of the fragile gift we are given in this world. All comes down to perspective. And sometimes perspective comes when we are reminded of those lost too soon. At other times it's that precious gift when those innocent souls are introduced to the world. 

I know this post may seem a bit deep, but life isn't always the glitter and unicorns we would like it to be. Going through the bad is what makes you appreciate the good. These things are a part of my life a la carte.

 (So in love already)

Give your loved ones an extra squeeze  and be sure to tell them how much they mean to you.

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