A Year Full of Death

If I had been able to see into the future when I selected my year word/phrase for 2017, I would have chosen "death". 

Another acquaintance died Thanksgiving night. This lady co-hosted the Winona Literary Club with me on October 4th. She sat next to me and commented that she was eating very little of the refreshments because she was having trouble swallowing. She had a doctor's appointment the next week. They discovered metastasized cancer. She immediately went on hospice; now 6 weeks after diagnosis she is dead. 

She makes number eleven of my acquaintances, friends, and a cousin that have passed away in 2017. Add to that all of the death in the Caribbean from hurricanes and flooding, those killed by terrorists, those who perished in earthquakes, all making the news headlines, and I can't help but think about my own mortality. 

Even the trivial aspects of life such as the death of my moss roses and the demise of my washing machine remind me of life's frailty and loss.

I do not grieve as those without hope of eternal life, but a sadness fills my soul. My 2017 phrase of "fill the well" had a very dark side. I am reflecting on a 2018 word; no matter what I pick, the events of the year probably won't match the word, but it does make me think of goals I would like to accomplish. Do you pick a year word to focus on?