or here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/clarendon-hills/community/chi-ugc-article-a-hug-a-love-story-and-a-miracle-young-lomb-2015-11-20-story.html
Fast forward to the present time, Sam had some health/medical complications and unfortunately, he passed away yesterday. So one can imagine how his wife and loved ones are currently feeling.
One of the thoughts that crossed my mind has been how unfair it seems that Sam had to be taken away from Cece so soon. While they had dated for years, they didn't even have the opportunity to live the married life together for very long before Sam had to go to the hospital. I know what it's like to be deeply in love with someone, and to have that person be permanently taken away from me would be tragic. It also hits home for me, since Cece is around my age.
I've known Cece since high school, and while I didn't get to see Cece and Sam very often in person, since I don't live in Chicagoland anymore, it was still very obvious to me how strong their relationship was. Their love for each other was inspiring to me. Also, in my eyes, Cece is such a beautiful, positive person and it seems like a crime to take away the main love of her life.
In thinking about Cece's situation, I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite stories from Humans of New York about a couple named Shirley and Moe. I'll let this video illustrate some thoughts for me:
"I said, ‘Moe, what would I do without you?’ And he gathered up all the energy he could and he said, 'Take the love you have for me and spread it around. A love spread around. There, beauty is found.'"
Death is most difficult on the living. Once a loved one dies, those who are left in the physical world must cope with that death. The more meaningful or closer the relationship, the more painful the loss is. How does a person cope when a significant other dies? Sure, the process is different for each person. Of course, a time for mourning is involved, but what happens after that? For me personally, I like to hold onto people I love even after they are taken away for me for whatever reason. There's no shame in that. However, I also feel like there needs to be a balance between loving that person/keeping their significance alive and carrying on in life in a way that is healthy and strengthens me to go on. I'm all about turning negative energy into positive energy, bringing beauty from pain.
For me, death also causes me to reevaluate and reprioritize my life. It makes me hold my loved ones who are still living much closer. It makes me appreciate things more. As far as I know, nothing in life is truly permanent, so let's make the most out of this existence.
I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite songs.
Seeing as it's Winter, I find this song to be appropriate as to how I feel about Sam's passing. So I'm dedicating "Winter" by Bayside to Sam. | |