Sometimes

Sometimes I get news that makes me really think, I suppose it's the same for all of us. This weekend we learned that a lifelong friend of my Wife's, who was just about to retire to the Sunny uplands of Southern Spain with her husband (literally next week) had a stroke on Friday evening, and is now in intensive care. Apparently it was a serious episode and her condition is still critical several days later. Of course we remain optimistic that she will make some kind of recovery, and will be going to see her as soon as we can to lend whatever support we can, but the news put me in a reflective mood. As we get older I guess it's normal to start to see older generations as well as some peers starting to fade away; it's never easy but the longer I live the more I feel I understand those cheesy quotes that you occasionally read on the subject. The one that sprung into my mind this weekend was "life is a tragedy filled with joy". I can't even remember who said it or where I read it, but thinking about all the wonderful things our two families have witnessed and enjoyed together over the years while simultaneously trying to comprehend the terror of her current predicament, I can certainly see where they were coming from.