all we are is dust in the wind

It was a good weekend because it really provided a nice escape from the stress of the last week. PF Chang's and Rick's Dessert Diner on Friday with David made for an excellent date night, something we haven't had in a while. Saturday we slept in, did some house cleaning, ran some errands, and watched "The Departed". Sunday was church, then lunch with some other people from Threshold at Guadalajara's and then hanging out with Krystle at Borders for over two hours. Oh, and did I mention that the weekend temperature high was around 80 degrees? I gleefully wore my flip-flops after several months of them hiding in the back of the closet.

Needless to say, it was one of those weekends that made me feel content with the world. A husband I love, fellowship with friends, yummy food, sunshine---yeah, life is good.

Then I got to work this morning, and learned that someone in our department passed away over the weekend. His death was completely unexpected--he was a seemingly healthy, 47 year old man. He was admitted to the hospital a week ago, was diagnosed with Autoimmune hemolytic anemia on Wednesday, and on Friday night he died. Whoa.

Now I didn't know him very well because he worked in a program in our department that is actually in a building off campus, so it wasn't as much an emotional blow (as I know it was to the people who actually worked with him) as it was just the shock of how sudden the death was. I know people die suddenly every day in car accidents, terrorist bombings, etc. but it is still just hard for me to comprehend the abrupt nature of death sometimes. Like with this situation, one week, you're perfectly healthy, the next week you're a victim of a fatal disorder. I need more time to process things and have closure, and this kind of sudden death doesn't allow for that.

So with this news, I view my weekend with a truly grateful heart at the life I live and just pray that I can continue to have this attitude towards my life until the day it ends.