RIP Patrick

Just heard Patrick Swayze died.

So sad.

He was sick for so long, fought the hard fight for so long.

But what hurts the most is what his poor wife will be going through. They were so obviously in love with each other - I can't imagine what she is feeling now.

I remember when my dad died, I was at the wake, talking to a work friend, and my mom walked over and reprimanded me for "socializing" at my father's wake. (Apparently I had been looking like I was enjoying myself a little too much.)

I admit I got a bit annoyed, but then Eric said something I'll never forget. He told me not to worry about my mom, not to be embarrassed - that her husband had died and of course she was upset.

So I jumped down his throat and said, "My FATHER died. I'M upset, too!"

But he said - wait for it, here it comes: "It's different for you, Krys. He was your dad. You didn't pick him. Your mom? She chose that man to spend the rest of her life with, to have a life with, to have children with. She chose him over all others. Of course you love your dad, but it's a different love than the love between your mom and your dad, and you have to understand that. If my wife died, as much as we fight like cats and dogs, I'd miss her with all my heart, there'd be a huge hole in my life that no one else could fill. It's different."

And I never forgot that. Such thought-provoking words, so simple though. And that was my first thought with the announcement that Patrick Swayze had died. "His poor wife." Of course, he's not suffering any more. But, oh, his poor wife...