FRAGILE: Handle With Care

Someone I love very much is hurting.  I mean really hurting.  Her carefully etched life is shattering right before her eyes and it is painful, and breathtaking, and such a reminder that we are all fragile.  Despite our best efforts sometimes, things come crashing down around us and we are left to pick up the pieces.

Now, I get to help Her start putting them all back together.  One little bit at a time.  I find it necessary to tend to the most broken bits first.  Pick them up, hold them, and then set them back in their place.  For Her this is her children. Helping them adjust to the change is the least I can do.   They need to be loved and comforted.  I am lucky enough to be one of the "special people" in their lives and they trust me more than ever.  Fear shines in their eyes, but I sit them in my lap, hug them tight and tell them that I'm here when they need me.  Next are the biggest pieces, the ones that still hold some of their shape, the parts of Her life that she still has control over.  She feels good about fitting some of them back together herself and I tell her she should.  I follow her lead.  I watch her closely, and make sure I help if she drops something or simply can't do it alone.  It's what you do when someone you love is hurting.  They are fragile and you handle them with care.  In turn, they give back their trust and gratitude and that helps to make us both whole again.