Coping with Loss

Most of us have all experienced the loss of something that’s very dear and precious to us and eventually we all figure out a way to work through it and survive. There are many types of losses that can have a major impact on our lives. Immediately our minds may take us to the death of a loved one, but there are losses that can affect each of us very differently. Any situation, such as losing a job that we loved or even a bracelet or earring that had a special meaning could be a temporary loss too.

In the past week, two people were removed from my life. It never seems to matter how ill a person is or was, it still can be a shock to one’s system. When I worked for the American Heart Association in San Francisco, many, many moons ago I became close to my boss who was hard on me and also wonderful to me and taught me a lot about my role as the Communications Director. I haven’t worked there in what seems like 100 years, but we always enjoyed lunch meetings over the years with one other colleague that also worked there. Every time we got together it was non-stop laughter, talking and eating of good food. For many years, my old boss had kidney problems and received treatment. He even tried to receive a transplant, but it never stopped the fun that the three of us had together. My friend in crime was Kelly who taught me the meaning of true friendship. As our old boss kept getting sicker, he made a point of not letting us…