Times in Our lives

This week my son Jake has been sick and teething at the same time. While it hasn’t been a perfect storm, so far it’s led to three pretty sleepless nights for us at the Pellicane house. Tuesday night my wife, Adele, and I thought we’d get a jump start on sleep, once Jake fell out, in anticipation of another crappy nights sleep. Shortly after we feel asleep our phone rang and we were awoken to bad news. My wife’s Aunt had passed away unexpectedly.

As we worked through the calls Adele was asked to make, the grief she and I were feeling, our sadness for her Aunts family, we eventually found our way back to sleep. A little while after we feel back to sleep Jake was up and we began the ritual parents around the world go through with a sick and teething child.

Yesterday I was home early to help with Jake, late in the afternoon he fell asleep and took the opportunity reached out to my wife’s cousin, her Aunt’s son. We spent time on the phone talking about his unexpected loss, the sadness and grief everyone feels, and life in the moment. He shared with me that how proud he was that all six siblings were together in the moment as a single family unit again, everything else fell to the side as they rallied to support each other. A difficult feat in today’s’ day and age and compounded for our cousins by their dad’s passing when they were all around their teens.

We talked about how bittersweet that must feel, it made me think about my own family and siblings. As I hung up the phone I looked down at Jake who lay asleep next to me, with his head on a pillow and his legs draped across mine. I thought about the love he and his sister Candice already outwardly share with each other. I thought about the hope I have that they always go through experiences like this they cemented as brother and sister one unit.

Sometimes in life it’s times like this that remind us how special our relationships are. Looking down at Jake I thought again how important it is to take the good and bad in stride. This week we’ve needed to adjust our lives to be with Jake as much as we could. But that allowed me to take the time to look down at my sleeping son with his head on a pillow next to me and his legs draped over my lap. Usually I find the unexpected happenings in life are bittersweet. I continually work to enjoy the sweet and get through the bitter.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher, canvas Magazine