Rebuilding Rob

I have the day off of work because of the holiday weekend; I was able to sleep in.

But I’m not looking forward to today at all. In fact, for some of my closest friends in this world, today is going to probably be one of the worst day of their lives.

Last week, the daughter of a woman who I’ve known, since I was a child myself, took her own life. She was 19

I didn’t know her that well. I knew OF her. We had met before. She’s been in my home before. But I lived out of state for roughly half of the girl’s life. however, I’ve known her mother for almost 45 years. Her mother was my next-door neighbor growing up as a kid. We met nearly 45 years ago, the day that my parents moved into their current house. And the girl is my sister’s goddaughter.

She left a suicide note. In it, she said that she had been feeling up and down so she was 12 years old. I simply cannot wrap my head around being that young and being that unequipped too overwhelmed to combat depression of that magnitude.

Naturally, my thoughts turn to her mother . The woman is only two years older than me. she graduated from high school with my sister. She’s probably the one person in this world outside of my family that I would refer to as “my sister“. Even trying to imagine what she’s dealing with right now is too much for me to process. The word devastated simply doesn’t do it justice.

I don’t care how spiritual or how religious a person is. There is nothing in this universe that will ever make me accept the idea of a parent having to bury a child. I don’t care about illness, I don’t care about horrific tragedy. And I sure as hell don’t buy “God works in mysterious ways“. It is just not the order of things.

I try to put myself in my friends shoes; but that is a scenario worse than any nightmare I’ve ever dreamed. If I were to lose one of the boys, I think the only thing that would keep me from completely shutting down is the fact that I would have to be there for my other living child.

So I’m going to the viewing today. I don’t think I’m going to be able to attend the services later in the day, because I have to pick up Kid 2 this evening. I’m going to be there to support my longtime neighbors. They are people who I know almost as well as I know my immediate family. today is going to be the worst (or second-worst for the mom) day of their lives. That level of sorrow has a way of becoming contagious.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT TIME: it’s perfectly normal to be happy or to be sad at times. But there is a big difference between being depressed and struggling with Depression. Likewise, being anxious and experiencing crippling levels of Anxiety is another matter altogether.

If you are even entertaining thoughts of suicide, click on this link -regardless of wherever you’re reading this blog, to find help.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

• Rob’s Retro Movie Review: This is Spinal Tap (1984) – The Movie That Scaled to Eleven
• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

The article “the Dark Side of Empathy” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.