A former colleague of mine, a guitar teacher, lost her husband yesterday afternoon. He had trouble breathing, she took him to the hospital, and by the time they got there he was already gone.
They were battling with his kidney failure for 7 years. I said they because she was there with him through every dialysis, months after months until it got to twice a week, fetched money from every resources available to keep her husband alive. She had to be the only breadwinner of the family, and as a guitar teacher, I can only imagine how frantic she must have felt when her husband's breath is as short as cash on hand.
When I learned about his passing, I felt sad for her, but in a way, I also felt somewhat relieved, because I know that now my friend can build her life again. Now she is free of all worries and sadness, and most of all, from the constant pain of seeing your loved one suffers. Sometimes being alone is better than all these. Loneliness can sometime add beauty to life. For one thing it teaches you of not taking things for granted.
Thinking of her situation, I came to think that of all the liabilities we put up with every day, human beings can be the greatest source. Debts can be paid, but when it comes to our fellow mankind, these liabilities can last for as long as they live. It can be in the form of an illness, old age, or children with special needs, or people whose biggest enemy are themselves. And I know some great women in my life who hang in there even though their loved ones let them down. Like my friend. And mum. And my granny and my aunts. It never fails to amaze me how their love endures all, and give them the strength to wake up every morning and face another day.
