Healing

Last Thursday, I had a customer request for several copies of a book called Healing After Loss. The next day, I received an email for three copies of the same book from a different customer. After the last request, I decided that when the book next comes in, I’d take a look at it. The woman who ordered the latter three told me, “The book is really helpful - short meditations each day which is about all one can handle.” As it turns out, I will be getting my own copy and maybe a couple extra copies for family members. Corky Geraedts, my father-in-law, passed away on Saturday. He was 56 years old. I first met Corky in 1995, when I began to date his son Tom (my now husband). When Tom and I decided to marry, I remember being a bit overwhelmed by the fact that my family would DOUBLE. I looked forward to having sisters however, since I don’t have any. As I became more entrenched in my husband’s family, I began to realize that not only did I gain a greater number of family members, I also gained family woes. On the other hand, I have experienced more joy. Because of my relationship with Tom’s family, I have rejoiced in the births of seven babies – seven! That’s something I could not have accomplished on my own (and let’s faces it, if I did, rejoicing might not be my first reaction). There is a long, tangled road of grieving ahead for my family. I grieve my own loss of Corky, I grieve my husband’s loss of his father, I grieve my daughter’s loss of her Opa. This Thanksgiving, my prayer is thus: Thank you for the time I had with Corky.