The world conspires to keep us humble

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

Revisiting an old client this afternoon, she revealed to me her brother had recently passed away, and it was up to her to settle his affairs as executrix of his will.

She told me how she's been commuting back and forth between his home and hers since he passed in July, and she was well and truly whipped (she's in her 80s). All the other siblings in the family are at war with each other, so that's an added burden on her- instead of making a single call and having it passed on, she has to do it three times, and she hates it. Her husband passed on several years ago, and she's pretty much alone now because of her family's estrangement.

I commiserated with her, having lost a brother myself in years past. As I finished my work and was walking out the door, she broke down and started crying in frustration. I offered her a hug, and she hung onto me for a while, until she felt better. It was all I had to offer her.

This is not the first time this has happened to me- it happened once before while I lived in Nashville. A client lost her husband, and as we stood in the yard talking, she suddenly grabbed ahold of me and started crying. Again, all I could do was hang on.

I can't even describe the mood it puts one in. Not depression, not sadness, but a strange place with both of them and more floating around.

It's life, and although that sort of thing isn't the way I want to spend my time, I believe it's vital to accept it and do what needs to be done in the moment.

I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight, but that's okay. Something happened, and I responded the best I could. I'll get by. I hope I can say the same for her.

[WCGreen]

1. Just being there for other people.....

Isn;t that what all the "spirits" in every religion ask of us?