Grief & Joy Can Co-Exist
This short story is in response to the Journey of Life prompt in February. Human emotions are fascinating and often a bittersweet mixture of pleasure and pain. How confusing can it be to feel joy when we should be grieving or grief when we should be feeling joy?
I think it’s a gift that we can experience such a myriad of feelings in a very short span of time. A comforting gift that pain is fleeting and joy can appear when we least expect it.
My grandfather was an exceptional human, he loved life, he loved his family, he loved strangers and he always had a joke, song or dance to share. Larger than life and he really taught me through example how to be compassionate, how to treasure the people closest to you and how to stay an active participant of your own life.
When he died after a short illness over a decade ago it was shocking. He was so alive, how could he just be gone? My grandmother and him had a soul connection, he pampered and doted on her, she adored him and leaned on his strength as she had suffered from illness and ailments for years.
To say she was devastated would be an understatement. She passed not long after him which did not surprise us, we knew they needed to be together.
My oldest child was only three years old when this happened, but they absolutely loved spending time at Papa’s…
