Peace

 

I found peace this week. A peace that I have not felt in a year. You see, my heart has been broken. Deeply. By someone I love. Someone who has been part of my life for decades.

Additionally, during this year my husband and I have gone through some difficult times due to external events. But we got through them. We communicate well and we are committed to each other in this thing called marriage.

One of those events is that my father-in-law died. Peacefully. Falling asleep in his chair. At home.

I grieved differently for him than I did my own father. Afterall, I had known him longer. My own father passed away when I was almost 32. I knew my father-in-law for 39 years. While my father was there for my childhood and got to see me grow into an adult, my father-in-law saw me grow as an adult. And helped me through some difficult times.

This week I learned that there is more to joy than just saying “thank you.” Instead, acknowledging those relationships that helped me through a tough year and saying to friends who helped me, “this has been a difficult year, and you helped me get through it. Thank you.”

My heart is still broken. And will probably remain so. But I found peace. And the cloud has been lifted.

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