At that age when friends' parents are leaving us

It happened again last night. More good friends lost their father/father-in-law to cancer. It was expected, but it doesn't make it that much easier. Just a few years ago, she lost her dad to the same disease.

I'm at the age, 48, where my friends are losing their parents - those who haven't lost them already. It's hard for a friend to watch the pain. We know it hurts but only they can work it through. Unspoken thoughts, sometimes unsaid apologies, can haunt those left behind. But what's done is done and we can't go back and change what we wish we'd done and what we wish we'd said. We can only hope that our loved one knew and understood.

Our niece had a baby girl just two weeks ago - a life just beginning, and Mr. Z left the world - a life ending. The circle of life, as cliched as it is, is truly how the world functions.

To all those who have lost someone important to them or are in the process of having someone going down that path, my sympathy. It's hard. But I do know that it also gets better as we realize that life continues but now with memories.