Day 135 or “The Day there is a Death in the Family”

Stormy starts this morning happily asking if she can Skype her mother over breakfast. We have plenty of time before the bus so I readily accept. The mood turns quiet as she explains that her Uncle passed away last night. The morning then becomes a combination of getting ready for the bus, planning last-minute travel to Sri Lanka and explaining the implications to Stormy.

Stormy latches onto the fact that she’ll see her mother tomorrow morning and is happy. While she talks about death regularly, she doesn’t really understand it. I explain that the funeral is on Wednesday and it’s a respectful occasion to remember the life of someone. Her response: “and then he gets better?”.

I’m in and out of a workshop all day as I arrange flights, visas, cancel play-dates and notify the school. I’m pretty sure I’ve thought of everything at this point. I come home early to pack bags. Stormy helps pack her bag and seems to be generally excited. In fact the saddest she gets is when she realises that she can’t have her play-date with her best friend tomorrow. However, we get everything packed and ready to go before dinner.

It seems totally incredible to me now that we spent the evening as though it were just like any other. From a half-eaten dinner, to the conversation in the bath, the refusal to go to bed, the breathing exercises and, finally, sleep.

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