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A man sits by the bay, hoping the heat of the sun will warm his soul. Passers-by glance at him sitting there, staring out to sea. “Shouldn’t he be at work?” “Why is he sitting here? Has he not got things to do?”. The man does not notice the passers-by. It is 10am on a sunny Australian Monday morning.
There is barely a cloud in the sky. Down by the bay gleaming white boats bob about on the water, looking brilliant in the morning sunshine. The only sounds are the lapping water and the distant hum of traffic. Occasionally the sound of footsteps break through as someone hurries on their way to somewhere else. Most passers-by don’t give the bay or the boats a second look as they hurry on their way.
They don’t know that this man has come to the bay to find a space among the boats and the ocean to gather his emotions. He has just dropped his three young children to their first day back at school. Three weeks earlier his beautiful bubbly wife died suddenly without warning. He lost the love of his life. His girls lost their loving mother.
He feels alone, overwhelmed and wonders how he will cope. There is so much to do, so many unknowns ahead in their future, so many happy memories in their past, so much shock and trauma in their present. But he knows he will cope. He has to. He has three lovely daughters who rely on him and he is now their all, their only parent. This is the picture he posted to let his friends know he is coping. The replies and good wishes came from all over the world.
Today, be a little kinder to those you meet. You just never know what they are coping with in their lives.
Dedicated to Kel. Your job is done. And done well.
“Don’t worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.” Baz Lurhmann
Oh, heartbreaking
It truly is.
A lovely, touching post.
Thank you.
Heartbreaking, but a beautifully written post Ellie x
Thanks T.
Lovely!
Very sad. Is this someone you know? A good reminder to have empathy.
Yes it is someone I know. The news broke our hearts so I don’t know how he is managing to keep going but he is.
Terribly sad! I admire his strength to go on for his children’s sake.
A timely reminder to look beneath the surface sometimes, Ellie. Thank you.
We are all guilty of making snap judgements when we don’t know what someone is going through. Glad you got something from my post.
Thankfully we never know what’s ahead of us so we do well to enjoy each day as it comes and cherish those we love.
Wishing your friend and his family well after such a tragedy.
So true, better we don’t know whats ahead.
Isn’t that the truth??? I am working on it. I figure I waste a tremendous amount of time on things that may never happen!
I do exactly the same thing Susie. When this happened those words of Baz Luhrmann came back to me. So apt.
Heart wrenching post. I wish your friend and his sweet girls well.
Thank you Mary.
I read this last week and wanted to comment, but wanted to think about it first. Such a touching story and we are all a moment away from being in his shoes. i don’t know how I’d react, behave, or sort things out…I pray for your friend and his girls, may he find comfort in the memories he and his wife made.
Thank you for your kind words Clay. None of us know how we would deal with this type of thing. We can only do our best for those who find themselves dealing with it.