Aftermath

I've never really known anyone who has committed suicide. And while I barely knew the man who took his own life on Tuesday, I know his best friends well and am watching the painful aftermath of his death. From informing friends to making funeral arrangements to going through his belongings, all while beginning their own grieving, they are devastated and struggling, as are their kids, who called the man "uncle." The banana bread and casserole I will take over and the phone calls when I listen to tears and questions and anger hardly touch the pain; they aren't really meant to fix anything, only to help support the grieving as they navigate between the realms of life and death. And the worst is yet to come, once all the family and friends go home and the formal rituals are over, but the sadness has just started, made even more painful because this death was chosen.