This is Fruitycake The Raccoon. Just a reminder that I’m not a real raccoon. I just like to pretend I am one.
Yesterday, we went to a place where the persons, Brickle and Digby used to go. It was a trail with a little waterfall and a little bridge.
It was very shady and pretty.
Girl Person said that she didn’t expect to feel so sad there. She said that she thought she was stronger than that now. But I guess being strong and being sad are two totally different things. You can be sad and still be strong. And in fact, sometimes it takes strength to feel the sad.
As we were walking, we came upon a little waterfall and a bridge. Brickle recognized it right away. He told me to be respectful of the bridge. That it was Digby’s bridge.
And I understood. It wasn’t that Brickle didn’t want me there. Or that he didn’t want me on the bridge. He just wanted me to acknowledge that I wouldn’t be there if not for Digby making the path.
And so I stopped. And I acknowledged. I stopped and was still. I took in the fact that life is a series of trails that others have been on. And one day, someone else may be on this bridge remembering me.
The bridge may have been small. But for Brickle, the steps seemed higher to get on it. It took more effort this time. And life can take a lot out of us when we lose the ones we love. Sometimes I feel like that’s why we all get older. Loss ages us. Hurts us. And it seems to happen more often the older we get.
But life is also a series of magic mixed in with the sad. Because there were happy memories there for the persons and Brickle. And that was special too.
We all have to face loss. We all will experience it. But don’t stop looking for the bridges. Find a way to get thru life when you experience a loss. Find a way to remember with appreciation the ones who crossed that bridge.
–Fruitycake The Raccoon
