Monday, January 17, 2005

Winter's Chill

Good morning. It's Monday, and I'm recuperating from the weekend, albeit briefly...

Yesterday was our farewell party at WCH. It was a red-white-blue theme, American flags... a campaign theme. How fun! Somewhere between 500-600 people were there, the gospel choir came down from the city to surprise Matt and sing for him, people lined up for about an hour to hug us and affirm our time there. Matt says it's like going to your own funeral. You ain't kidding.

Goodbyes are a type of grief, sort of like losing a loved one. There are a variety of responses - shock, anger, disbelief, bargaining, depression/withdrawl, I've seen them all, in the ICU at Roswell and at the church. Working with the dying has taught me a lot in regards to giving people room to process loss. That knowledge been invaluable while helping my friends and acquaintances handle the change that's about to occur. I have a lot more to blog, but I'm off to take my favorite babysitter to tea. Catch you soon. Moving van comes in 8 days.

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