An Unexpected Tragedy

I arrived in South Carolina yesterday, looking forward to spending time with my two sisters. I haven’t been here in years and I was so excited to be visiting my sisters in their home state. I was long overdue for this visit.

Last night my sisters and I had a wonderful reunion. We told silly stories and laughed a lot. We reminisced. We talked about our kids. We talked about the future. Joanne talked about her retirement plans to travel across the country with her husband Tony. It turns out that all three of us hope to spend time traveling around the U.S. when we retire. Such a stereotypical bucket list item. A simple pleasure.

Before the night ended we talked over our weekend plans. Tony and Joanne were cooking for us on Saturday night. We “girls” would spend the day together and then we would end the evening with a family dinner. We made plans for Sunday. A fun-filled weekend stretched out in front of us.

Tony died of a massive heart attack last night. He was 55 years old and hadn’t had heart trouble. A few short hours after my sisters and I laughed and made plans for the next day, my sister’s life was turned upside down.

Joanne’s life story is not mine to tell, but let’s just say that she deserved this marriage. Her marriage to Tony was full of joy, of love and happiness.

She is in shock. We are all in shock. I want to turn the clocks back and get a do-over. There are so many things that I want for my sister tonight. More than anything, I want her to have many, many more years with her love.

Unexpected tragedies occur every day. This isn’t the first unexpected tragedy that my family has experienced, but the last one was a while ago. I had let my guard down.

It’s late at night. Joanne finally fell asleep. Our younger sister Cathie watches over her, lovingly and fiercely, like a proverbial protective mother hen (one that I am so grateful Joanne has). I’m alone right now, listening to a few lingering, late-night Carolina peepers as I try to process this terrible day that will stretch out for months. For the unforeseeable future.

Over the last year, this blog has become my voice. Tonight I’m sharing the personal stuff, my sadness and grief. Thank you very much for listening and caring.

Rest in peace Tony.