Remembering With Love and Joy

Blog post #301 of 365

Tuesday was national suicide awareness day. It was a thoughtful day for me.

No I am not thinking about taking my life. I love my life. It is flawed and imperfect like me but it suits me fine for the moment.

My children have lost friends to suicide. Two of which were very close to our family.

When we lived in Oklahoma my oldest son's best friend was Levi. We moved and only a few years later Levi was found with a self inflicted gunshot wound. He was a really great kid who we all loved. He spent many a day hanging out with my kids. His dad employed my son for a time. Levi was an extension of our family. His passing was tragic.

When we moved back to California my second oldest son's best friend was Sakarin. They were practically inseparable. The only time they weren't together was while they were at work, when my son was in church and some nights. He had a good life with family and friends who LOVED him. But there was a lot of pressure from his family to do what they wanted, they way they wanted, when they wanted him to do it. It was hard on him but mostly he was happy and had a wonderful spirit. One day we got a call that he had hung himself. He had reached out but his friends were all at work. I was away at a training. Nobody saw it coming. Losing another young friend was tragic.

I guess my point is you just never know how long anyone has nor what happened that made them believe this was the only solution available to them. I hope I never experience anything like this again.

If you think the only way out is to end your life please talk to someone you love. Chances are your missing a key factor in this. You will be missed and our questions will remain unanswered. Please don't take your own life.

These two young people will be forever a part of our family. We were fortunate to have known them. Their time with us will always be remembered with love and joy. Rest well my friends until we meet again.