Pain

It’s so hard to know your child is in pain, but it’s especially hard when the pain is not for themselves…it’s for the life of another. It’s hard to know the truth, it’s hard to feel their pain, it makes you want to cry and you do.

This pain comes on the heels of our neighbor recently finding out that he has cancer. Not just one form of cancer…cancer that has riddled his body and taken a toll on his life. Once a very active biker that has a heart of gold, he now has the hardest time getting around.

Seeing the look on my son’s face just before bed made me realize he was having a really hard time dealing with the news. When I asked if he wanted to talk…he didn’t hesitate and the tears immediately started to flow. He feels very close to our neighbor as they have enjoyed many conversations together over the years.

In 8 short years of living in our home, our neighbor has shared stories with our boys and my little guy feels a strong connection with him. When he said, he feels as close to our neighbor as family…my heart shredded into a million pieces for the pain he was feeling. He saw me cry, I held him close and we discussed ways for him to help his aching heart.

He also added that at his age (9), it’s really hard because he understands what is going on with our dear neighbor.

For starters, we decided making a get well soon card would be best for him to get his feelings on paper. He added a picture of Mr. Ben’s home at the bottom with him getting ready to take a ride on his bike.

Whether the tears are streaming down your face with your child or you cry on the inside feeling your child’s pain for another is very hard. It makes you want to do more, it makes you want to be better…and makes you wish their pain would subside.

Upon originally writing this story to share with you, my son was able to have 5 additional days with his friend, Mr. Ben. Mr. Ben is now resting peaceful in his new home. While we still grieve his passing…we all know that he is in a much better place.