Monday, September 27, 2010

No words

Today, as I was walking into one of the departments I work with, I caught a glimpse of a male in our signature blue-green scrubs.  I paused, backed pedal just a couple steps & stared.  It was like that moment when you come to an unknown intersection and you need to make a quick decision.  What do I say?  What do I do? 

For you see, it WAS the male co-worker who unexpectedly lost his wife  3(+/-) weeks ago.  This is his second week back to work & my first time seeing him since the day the accident happened.  I can still hear him saying "wassup" in his fun, laid back manner merely hours before his life changed.  Yet the man I saw today wasn't him.  There was no smile, there was no "wassup."  You could literally see that he lost his soulmate and no words could provide the comfort needed today.  No words could let him know how much I wish it wasn't him having to go thru this.  No words were spoken but a quick "oh hunny" to let him know I recongnized him and then let a hug do all the talking for us.



The feelings that transpired in that one hug, that only lasted a mintue but seemed like 10, can not easily be put into words. 
It felt like I was holding onto a young boy who lost his one and only true love.  Which is exactly what happened, for this couple WERE that high school couple who married after school AND stayed together.  You could feel the love, you could SEE the love between them. 
But most importantly,  I felt like I left a little bit of my hope and strength with him (& I wish I could have left more)

6 comments:

Unknown said...

oh that is so sad.

Tina said...

Oh how heartbreaking. I'm still with my high school sweetheart 27 years later. Can't imagine your co-worker's loss. You were a good friend in that moment, MJ.

HeatherLynn said...

that's so terribly sad...

sometimes a hug says the things we cannot.

it was the right move.

~hl~

Unknown said...

You were so thoughtful to give him a hug. I bet it's just what he needed.

Holly Lefevre said...

Sometimes a hug is just perfect. How terribly sad for him.

Jenn Erickson said...

MJ, I'm so sorry to hear about your co-workers loss. I'm encouraged to hear that he's surrounded by love and support.