A Loss is a Loss...

One of my students has been on my mind a lot today.  I wrote about his situation earlier this week.  He's the student whose brother was killed last year.  I'm not sure how it happened, only that it was a tragedy that he will most likely never get over.  I think the reason his situation has stuck with me is that we are both suffering and dealing with loss.  I feel so deeply for what he is going through. Even though our situations are different, they are also very much alike.  Both of us have lost someone who means the world to us, both of us expected that we would have this person in our lives forever only to have them cruelly ripped out of our lives, and both us will suffer the loss forever.  The only difference in our situations is that his brother has physically left this world, while my loss is still very much alive and, I hope against hope, doing extraordinarily well.  I, unfortunately, will never know because I have accepted that I will never see this person again.  It's hard to imagine that the pain that my student feels will ever ease, but I hope it will grow more bearable over time.  My pain is still very raw and palpable - even though it's been a couple of years, but I still live with the loss and pain on a near daily basis.  If I keep myself busy, the pain can be held off for awhile, but it ultimately returns. And sometimes at the weirdest times.  The littlest thing can trigger a memory which is, at the same time, joyous and painful. I'm certain that my student has the same issue.  He has been out of class for the past couple of days dealing with his loss.  I only hope that when he returns to school that he will feel comfortable enough to turn to me if he needs help during the day.  Although I cannot imagine the pain that he feels, I can empathize over the situation because as I said - A loss is a loss... no matter what.