And so we must go on

I was at Kroger today, the one close to where I work. I had been up there to do a myriad of different things; one of which was to get some vaccines for my upcoming trip to Peru. YES!!! I'm going to Peru. 2 weeks from Saturday. A medical mission trip with a few folks from my church and some folks from a church in Georgia. So that's soon, and I'm pretty excited. Anyway, I was at Kroger picking up a few things when I bumped into a co worker I used to work on psych with. We chatted casually for a bit, but then this co worker proceeded to tell me that she saw the name of a former patient in the obituary. I was pretty shocked. Sure enough, after we said our good byes and parted ways, I found the obit and there it was. No mention of how they died; all I know is that it happened a few days ago. Survived by a few family members. If I hadn't known who I was looking for I would have skipped right over it. They weren't that old, I do remember. I can't help but wonder though. I remember this patient. I remember seeing them on the psych unit about a month ago, and remember caring for them the few times they were there when I was still working over there. They weren't....in my opinion the friendliest face, but they never gave me any problems. They always said I was nice and had a good heart, and even gave me a bit of love advice once upon a time. Drama, anger, and a lot of devastation seemed to follow this person. They butted heads often with other patients and some of the staff; seemed like every day in report it was "well here's what so and so did today."

It just goes to show you that you never really know what's going on in a person's life. You never know what's going on in a person's head either. Your best friend could tell you they're ok but on the inside they're going through turmoil. You never know what you may say or do and how much it really affects them, both in a positive or negative way. You just never know. This was just a good reminder for me today. In a few weeks, it'll be the 10th anniversary of my friend's passing. I still think about him; he'd be the same age as my brother. He had his whole life ahead of him, and then one night, that was it. We're not promised tomorrow. Each day is a gift from God. I do my best to live each day to the fullest and to try and be kind to everyone I meet, for we don't know what they're facing in their lives. It may be the last time I ever see them.