You Live, You Love, You Lose

[Daryl]

On letting go...

I'm horrible at that. I still have remnants from each of my failed relationships that every so often I pull out when feeling nostalgic.

Thank you, Spatvark. You've inspired me to get rid of all of it.

I don't need these reminders of past love or of past pain. It's about bloody time I move on completely!


On death of loved ones...

I've lost a grandfather, across-street-neighbor-babysitter-motherly-figure woman, and a cousin. The grandfather, when I was only perhaps five... but I still miss him now and then. The babysitter/family friend when I was in middle school. The cousin died when he was 20, so, I believe I was maybe 17 or 18. He and his fiance died in a fire on Thanksgiving morning. Every Thanksgiving since then when doing the obligatory calls to the branches of the family, I remember that when I don't get to speak with him.


It's hard losing those we love.

[Chaos]

:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:...Sorry about that...but thats what I said after reading it.
Ya know that almost made me cry? It must have been hell for you then? I guess it must still hurt...I don't think Ive ever been through something like that, I hope to high heaven that I never will have to.
Ive never seen a dead body, I hope I never will.

Chaos

[mystic ice cube]

that was very deep, spat....and no, I have never lost anyone to death before......and I have never seen anything dead either......maybe road kill, but that doesn't count.......

[Germ Hamee]

...*cries* Wow, man, that's an amazing story.

I suppose I'm lucky. The closest I've ever experienced to lost loved ones are the death of pets, which are sad, but nowhere near as bad as the loss of human life. I have problems letting go of the past. I find myself near tears thinking about the good old days, and thinking about all the people I used to know. I still have every single note me and my friends passed between each other, and every single school book that had something to do with old friends.

I really respect your being able to let go. If it had been me, I'd still have the letter and everything under my pillow for years, never moving on.

I'm impressed and I have a very strong new-found respect for you reading that.

[Dr Unne]

You said you don't want sympathy, so I won't comment on your post, I guess. I've lost family, but never friends or really close family. I can imagine how it'd be harder if it was a close friend. I've lost friends to other things though, like some that moved away (different countries even) and never came back. It was kind of hard, but not really that hard, because I never really let myself become too attached to people.

I also had something I kept for a long time, which one day I threw in the garbage because I was sick of the memory associated with it. I don't really want to get into details. But I can sympathize with that. I'm not sure what to think about things like that. Letting go is good in some ways, but some things shouldn't be let go of completely, maybe. Sometimes it's important that you keep certain things with you. "Things" as in lessons or memories, I guess.

[Bannor]

Well that was very moving and inspirational. I can understand how you must feel but unfortunately I will prolly never feel that way. I am one of the most closed people I know. But you where strong during a tough time. And I respect that . The past is over and done with so be strong and life will go on.

[Spider John]

Well, I lost durn near everyone who ever meant anything to me exceptin' Ben and Julia and their spouses and children, but I'll just talk about the first and the last.

I was born into a world where the papers were all abuzz with the news of this saint on earth called Mr. Hitler. Kinda funny that he turned out to be the only man I ever practiced hating.

I was eight years old when the war ended, and I didn't understand much...All I knew was that I wasn't ever going to see my Uncle Charlie again because of the war, and it was Hitler started the war.

Charlie was still a boy when he died. He used to sneak me candies, but he enlisted in 1943 when he turned 18. If they ever told me just when or where he died, I can't remember, but I am sure that he got blown up by a grenade somewhere in France. I guess if it was France he must have made it to D-Day, but that's small comfort.

The latest one to die on me was the worst of all. Sure, Charlie's dying was bad, but I was just a lad at the time and didn't really understand; but the last person to die on me was back in 1998, so it's all fresh.

That was when me ol' missportin' Jenny, whom I was with for 40 years, passed away of a heart attack. I mentioned that in the smoking thread because that's why I quit.

I said it before and I'll say it again; When you live your whole life beside one person, and then suddenly she's gone, it leaves a hole in your life that nothing can fill. I was married to Jenny for 40 years, and I knew her since we five or six years old. Nothing can prepare you for losing something like that. Not all the deaths put together, not when Charlie died, not when my ma died, and not when my pa died. I guess it's comforting to know that I'm probably going to be the next to go. I don't want to be there at Ben's funeral or Julia's, or god forbid, Lana's.

I'm proud of you for letting go of Sam, Spatvark, but I ain't never going to let go of Jenny.