Out of the Woodwork

One of the unexpected and amazing things about experiencing a major tragedy is the people who come through for you.  And the immense outpouring of love.  Think about it this way.  Think about all of the relationships you put effort into over time, and think of all of the love you give along the way.  Well, then one day something horrifically bad happens to you.  But in the incomprehensible darkness of it all is the magnificent outpouring of love, all of that love you have built up in relationships over the years comes right back at you in one giant fell swoop, so hard and fast that you barely know what hit you. 

People crawl out of the woodwork for you.  They crawl out of the woodwork for you and they care for you.  They hug you and they feed you, and they clean your house and do your laundry for you.  And they help you make funeral plans and go to the mortuary with you.  And they listen to you and they cry with you.  And they call people for you and they clean out his house for you.  And they hug you and feed you some more and they watch out for your children and they hug them and feed them too.  And they bring you coffee and take time off of work for you.  And they sit with you and they hold you.  And they stop their cancer treatment so they can be with you.  And they act as buffers for you and they stand guard for you and they put together photo albums for you.  And they ride buses across the state for you and they plant gardens for you.   And they re-pot your plants for you.  And they listen to you and cry with you some more.  And they hug you and feed you some more. 

Unfortunately I don’t know if there is any other way to experience love all coming back at you at once like this except through tragedy, but oh my God, it is such an amazing thing to experience.  To feel the love that people have for you, and to feel how much they care for you and especially for your kids, to feel all of that love and caring all at once.  I just can’t even put it into words.  But it is incredible.  Through that incomprehensible darkness comes the brightest light ever.