Thank you for the kind compliment. Those around us who help to bring meaning, joy and happiness to our lives are most certainly gifts that we should never forget to be appreciative of. I'm glad that my piece served as a reminder of that.

Thanks again for your comment.

First off, thank you so much for sharing your story of loss here. I can imagine last year must have been incredibly hard and life changing for you.

But as you said, in time we learn to move past the hurt and sorrow and begin to appreciate all the gifts our loved ones have left us as we move forward in our own lives.

I'm glad you enjoyed this piece and thank you again, Charlotte, for sharing your personal story of grief and loss.

I saw Jackie's tweet and clicked through on the link. Wow. You sure know how to reduce a girl to a crying mess midday!

I lost my father to cancer about 20 years ago, and last year my mother. This was on the heels of the death of a dear, dear friend. It was the worst year of my life. Grief has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I expected the process to be linear, chronological… i.e. everything would get better if I just keep on moving forward. But it doesn't always work that way. Grief can be incredibly random, with short unexpected bursts that almost come out of nowhere.

Our resiliency as human beings means that we pick up and get on with life without that person existing physically in it. We keep the best of them in our hearts, share the knowledge that they passed onto us (the secret to a perfect pie crust, the appreciation of a beautiful clear blue sky, the love of a good book, etc.) with our family and friends, and are thankful for the time we had.

A beautiful post, Tanveer. We don't often reflect on death, dying, loss and grief. It's often shuffled off to the side, chin-up, a stiff upper lip and all that.

Thank you.

Thanks for a gentle reminder, this will only help readers put things back in perspective.

When discussing the sense of pain and grief we all feel over the loss of someone who brought so much to our lives, I certainly do hope it serves to remind everyone of how fortunate we are to still have those we cherish and appreciate in our lives right now.

Thanks again, Tanmay, for your comment.

And thank you for sharing that poem by Longfellow. It is indeed a beautiful one and it does eloquently capture the feelings of sorrow and pain we all endure when that time comes to say goodbye to someone who gave so much to our lives.

"A Psalm of Life" is a beautiful poem written by Longfellow on the topic of death seems to stand the test of time.
http://www.potw.org/archive/potw232.html