I will be attending a heart breaking veiwing today and funeral tomorrow...

In the past five years I have attended the funeral of a 12-year-old child who had his heart literally explode from doing pull ups, a father of a former student who had bone cancer in his face and an open-casket that I was not warned about, a co-worker who was a mother killed driving to work by a kid trying to pass on a double-yellow line and a co-worker who laid to rest a full-term still born infant.

All of those were difficult, and I thought I would be prepared for everything until I found out about a poker buddy and fellow Yinzer who lost his two-year-old (23 months) on Sunday morning.

That morning a bear was in their backyard and the family went out to see the animal walk into the woods. They had (man, how can I type that correctly?) a twin brother/sister combination and a seven-year-old daughter.

They saw the bear as they were getting ready for church, but the two-year-old girl was not feeling well. Mom decided to take her to the doctor while dad (a big lovable guy who I have many conversations with about kids) was to watch the eldest and the boy.

In the commotion of the bear, the boy crawled under the SUV. Mom backed up over him. Killing him while the eldest daughter watched and was not able to react in time.

The dad, I have heard, is destroyed. No charges were pressed. It was just a terrible accident, but I can only imagine that "what if" will be haunting them for the rest of their lives.

And if you really need to have the nail driven harder, the twin surviving daughter had to take a nap that Sunday afternoon for the first time without her twin.

Usually I am pretty hardened to this stuff. Usually. I think that streak will be broken. Both parents are well-liked school employees, so I am guessing these will be packed houses as well.

I cannot tell you how hard I hugged my little 16-month-old last night, and how much it scares me to death if anything should happen to her.

 

Wow, sorry to read about all that, 93. I can't imagine what's running through the heads of those parents right now.

 

Have an acquaintance in the business who watched his only grandchild die when accidentally run over by a truck. As a parent, I can't imagine a more hellish nightmare. There's no close second.

 

Wow. I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through. I'm speechless. I pray for their family, and want to hug mine.

 

Gawd... that's awful

 

I wish I had not clicked on this post and read that. I simply can't imagine what the family is going thru.

 

I cannot either.

I did some news side in college, and I sat with a hard face while people were going through hell and talking to me at the same time. I have had parents cry in front of me about their children and their feeling helpless in raising them, but they were at least alive.

Tomorrow and tonight, man, I don't know.

The only thing worse than this scenario is leaving a child in the car seat.

I told my wife this, and she immediately wanted us to buy a backup camera for our vehicles. Honestly, the car seat worries me so much more.

Being a parent brings you so much immeasurable joy, but there is always the converse of immeasurable potential grief. That converse scares me to the core. I am thankful that the details were not printed in the newspaper. Just the obit.

 

same here......just terrible.

Good luck tomorrow 93, that's going to be a tough wake. I wouldn't be able to hold it together......and I don't even know them.

 

no words. only :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

And this guy is so freeking nice.

Terrible poker player, as well. He is too nice to play poker well.

I question a lot of things about faith and religon when this stuff happens. Those will be two quiet car rides home.

 

I can't even begin to fathom what you and yours must be going through.

I don't even know what to say.

I am so sorry.

 

Well, thankfully, my wife does not know him or his family.

It sounds mean to type that, but at this second, I am glad she does not know him or his wife.

I never met the child, either, but the picture with the obit kicks up a lot of dust.