sad

Ran into someone who used to be part of a circle of friends at a craft fair. Years ago, her husband, a close of friend of my husband's, collapsed and died shortly thereafter...but not so shortly that she could be spared the decision to remove him from life support when it was determined that the background count on the monitors was higher than his brain functions. She had a psychological break - in some ways, perhaps all of us did. The group evaporated, as did the relationships.

We asked each other how we were doing...fine, fine. She asked after husband; I stood there awkwardly. We smiled and moved on.

In some ways we've probably grown, but we seem to be diminished. The people we were have gone.