Even though I was relieved that Beth was finally out of her pain from battling stage 4 cancer, my heart ached from the realization that after spending 37 years with her, I would never see her again – this side of heaven. I had no idea that this was just the beginning of my grieving process. The year of firsts was coming.
I’ve never really been much of a fan of Valentine’s Day. I’ll blame it on the commercialism of the holiday. If I’m honest, though, it has more to do with the fact that my reality has never come close to my hopes and expectations for this day. I’m a skeptic who also really loves Hallmark movie endings. The problem is I forget that Hallmark has millions of dollars and professional actors to pull off those endings.
We have all experienced times when a friend, co-worker, or relative offered harsh judgments. But there are also times when the words spoken, though hurtful at first, are exactly what we need to hear.
