An Update

It was not easy. You could say I was in an extreme emotional seesaw.
Both of my friends were in the same hospital. One was in the operating room; the other in the Morgue area waiting for her husband's body to be released.

I first went to the latter. Seeing her, I was just so devastated by her loss. Irene loves her husband a lot. Often, I'd see them going home from school (she was a Law school classmate/good friend). Mike would fetch her and they'd walk home holding hands. Mike was Irene's soul mate, best friend, confidant, and great love. We used to spend hours talking about Mike and Adrian (their son).

Walking in the morgue area, I saw Irene who stood up, embraced me and started crying. It was really, really devastating. Beside us in a room with an open door, laid Mike. His skin was blackened and his hands were frozen.

By that time, they were ready to move Mike. So, I decided to just follow them after visiting Lynette, my other friend, who was in the same hospital, giving birth. I did not stay long because they were leaving the hospital. So, I decided to go to Lynette's room.

I felt guilty about going to Lynette to celebrate the life of her baby when Irene just lost her husband.

The operation took longer than expected because they found a cyst when they opened her up. The doctor had to excise the cyst as well. In a matter of minutes from leaving Irene's side, I was waiting with Lynette's family. The mood was excited, joyful and anticipatory. People were happy. In a few minutes, I went from mourning death to celebrating a new life.

And I did. I celebrated the life of Nathania Lexie -- a really, really cute baby who has a disposition like her mother (who was never known to have a good disposition).

It's funny. You can mourn death and you can celebrate life all in one Monday morning. However, the truth is that we can continue to celebrate our lives each and every day. It is a conscious choice that we have to make. On the other hand, you also choose to stop mourning death. But no matter, how much time has passed, you can never truly get over the loss of someone you love. The pain will ease but the void will never be filled.