Journal entry by Al Negstad — 37 minutes ago
A year ago during Joanne's hospice stay and through her death and funeral I took a leave of absence from volunteer teaching at Noble Academy. When I returned to school my students greeted me with sympathy cards that they had made. Today I was reading through those cards again.
This is what Eric, grade five, wrote on his card. "A family is like a body, when a family loses a loved one, it is as if they have lost one of their limbs." Is that ever true! Then I began wondering if Eric knows this from experience or from his elders? Perhaps I will ask him tomorrow.
A friends was wondering about a book dealing with end of life issues. There are many now. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matter in the End, Atul Gawande is the best one I know. In the Epilogue Atul writes "We've been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well-being. And well being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive." p. 259
This is similar to a question I was asked recently by a long term friend who wondered "What do I most enjoy doing?" The "most" made me stop and think, as did the "doing". There is so much I enjoy but family and friends are clearly first if they can be considered "doing". Teachiing is fun, as is pretending to be a farmer, traveling is great, I love to read, hunting during its season is good...but "most"???
This reveals that, even in the land of grief, life is good and I am grateful.
Blessings,
Al
Picture: Joanne's last haircut...notice the hospital bed in the background.
This is what Eric, grade five, wrote on his card. "A family is like a body, when a family loses a loved one, it is as if they have lost one of their limbs." Is that ever true! Then I began wondering if Eric knows this from experience or from his elders? Perhaps I will ask him tomorrow.
A friends was wondering about a book dealing with end of life issues. There are many now. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matter in the End, Atul Gawande is the best one I know. In the Epilogue Atul writes "We've been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well-being. And well being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive." p. 259
This is similar to a question I was asked recently by a long term friend who wondered "What do I most enjoy doing?" The "most" made me stop and think, as did the "doing". There is so much I enjoy but family and friends are clearly first if they can be considered "doing". Teachiing is fun, as is pretending to be a farmer, traveling is great, I love to read, hunting during its season is good...but "most"???
This reveals that, even in the land of grief, life is good and I am grateful.
Blessings,
Al
Picture: Joanne's last haircut...notice the hospital bed in the background.
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