That dreadful thing called DEATH…
It all began last night. I have the habit of setting my alarm on my handphone before I fall asleep, in bed every night. I bet most of you set your alarms on your h/p, right? I wonder who bothers using ALARM CLOCKS these days. Those are so very ummm, old-fashioned? ;-) Last night, it was pretty late by the time I crawled into bed. Hence, when the phone looked like the screen had hanged, I remember thinkin’ to myself ” is my alarm goin’ to work tomorrow mornin’ ? ” but, I was just so sleepy that I didn’t bother thinkin’ of an alternative alarm. As predicted, when I opened my eyes this morning, it was 8.26am. Work begins at 8.30 am :-) I suppose I was quite calm despite havin’ woken up so late merely because I saw this comin’. Besides, I knew that it was goin’ to be a rather quiet day at work ; no big meetings,etc. I coolly walked over to the bathroom, had a quick,quick shower, and sped off to office ; arrived at the door-step of office at 9.05am. Boss was cool ’bout it ; thank heavens! *breathes a sigh of relief
Barely 1/2 hr after I had settled down at work, Boss informed that 3-4 of us would have to make a courtesy visit to one of our previous bosses homes as her son had died a sudden death! I had personally known this previous boss for a short period of time, as I hadn’t worked with her, but I had exchanged a few cordial words with her from time to time. Off we went to the crematorium in MY CAR. Yes, for the first time in my life, I drove two of my bosses and another staff in my ricketty old car ! One of my New Year resolutions was to drive CAREFULLY this year, and not as recklessly as I usually am. Nevertheless, old habits die hard they say. Let’s just say that once the entire journey was over, my boss had such a lot of trauma that he decided never ever to sit inside my car again! Oh, and during the journey, he’d sigh and yell, ” Have I already told you that your driving is scaring the hell outta me and I do intend on getting out of your car alive? ” or, ” Please do slow down. I feel like I’m riding on a horse, rushing against the ocean”. Yes, my boss is very imaginative and creative in his thinking indeed. Anyway, we reached this lady’s house, and there she was.
A picture of devastation and misery. Her son was just 23yrs of age, and he died in his sleep. I think she’s still in the DENIAL phase ‘coz she seemed to occupy her mind with all the happy moments spent with him ; and she seemed to be well composed, and calm, as she spoke so lovingly of her beloved son. We felt so sorry for her, as she described how terrible it was, when she walked into his room, and saw him ‘asleep’ on his bed. She assumed he had a long day at work, and left him to sleep awhile longer, as she drove off to work. Half an hour later, her husband called her to inform her that their son had died in the wee hours of the morning. 
Sometimes, life is so unfair, isn’t it? Whenever we hear the death of someone who’s in their 80s or 90s, we’d automatically think to ourselves, ” Ah, he/she has lived his/her life to the fullest and has now gone to be with God”. However, whenever we hear of sudden deaths as this particular case, it always shakes us up, as it merely makes you realize how precious life is. It’s so precious and you don’t know when you’d lose your loved ones. Sometimes, we take everythin’ and everyone for granted, goin’ ’bout our daily routine. Oh well, it would be quite pointless to fear death, and to keep wondering when we/our loved ones were gonna die. Instead, it would be so much wiser to live everyday like it’s your last day on earth, so that someday, when that Final Chapter of our lives arrive, we’d look back (from heaven!) and there would be a deep sense of satisfaction over the achievements in life, as opposed to regrets, disappointments,etc.
Oh dear, this entry has become rather depressing. I just feel so sorry for that lady as she has lost her 23year old son and is now grieving. All we can do is pray for God to provide peace in the bereaving parents’ and sibling’s hearts, during these trying moments. May the wonderful boy’s soul rest in peace.
Amen.
