December 31, 2014
Two years ago, we were eating stuffed mushrooms and drinking Pineapple-Orange Martinis, putting the finishing touches on Osso Buco and Saffron Risotto, opening a bottle of Veuve and wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year. One year ago, we were sitting in a house full of devastated people trying to grasp what had happened that afternoon and not finding any meaning. The image of a raw open grave and a life cut far too short overpowered everyone. This year, just another Wednesday night. Next year …?
As we approach one more totally arbitrary moment on the time-space continuum, a moment only made significant by a certain group of people who mark time using a particular system of reckoning, I wonder in what way, if any, tomorrow will differ from today, other than the changing of one number in the naming of the year for another. For millions of people on this planet, this is just a December evening, and for many, it is not even called December. Whatever you call it, and however you mark it, I wish you all a season of peace in the coming days.
For all the parents, members of this terrible club, I especially wish you whatever windows of peace you can find. As I read recently, “Sorrow is no longer the islands but the sea.” May you find landfall on the islands of tranquility, and if not tranquility, at least some brief respite from your journey, as you traverse this ocean of heartbreak upon which we have been cast adrift.
The Infinite Fountain 
Wishing you and your family peace whenever possible.
Thank you, Mira. We wish you the same.
Tara and I have been praying for your family at this anniversary time of Jake’s passing. There is no greater sadness than losing a child. Jake’s time here on this earth was cut too short and we think of him often and miss him. I wanted to send you and Jake’s mom a warm hug, love, and wishes for a peaceful heart from Kelly and Tara. Your blog is a beautiful tribute to Jake. I know he would be proud of you!
Love,
Kelly and Tara Call
Thank you both for your kind wishes.
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Wishing you as much peace as possible in the new year….thank you for your blog Ed. My daughter Anna’s 26th birthday is January 6, 2016. We lost her August 12, 2014. I can not speak of her in the past tense. From reading your posts, I know you feel the loss of your son Jake as I feel the loss of Anna – it is an unending anguish, a void, an absence that is ever present.
Thank you for putting my feelings into words.
Jackie, thank you so much for visiting and your beautiful heartfelt words. We share an unspoken, unbreakable bond. I wish you peace as well.