Bind Us Together...

I was at an all day meeting today in a room filled with people, most of whom I knew, but there were a few newcomers. I happened to be sitting between one of those newcomers and another woman that I know, and remained there as we had lunch. All of a sudden, the newcomer woman begins to talk about how nervous she is because she forgot to bring her cell phone and wasn't sure how her daughter would contact her if she went to the hospital today. She proceeds to launch on, describing in detail the great care that the hospital has given to her daughter, son-in-law and the new baby (it's a girl) that they are expecting.

And then she starts talking about the extra attention they pay to families like this who have experienced a trauma in the past. It seems that this is their second pregnancy. Their first baby, a boy, died at six weeks of age. The pregnancy and delivery were all perfectly normal, and they still haven't received a logical reason of death. This woman has journeyed through this pregnancy without exhaling yet. Sounds like Grandma hasn't either.

And as I sat there, sensing where the conversation was going, I fought the fight or flight thing that I go through. Should I politely excuse myself and find another conversation? Am I going to be able to open my mouth and answer without my breath catching? Am I too much of a Hormonal Harriet today to be listening to this conversation? After all, neither of these people know my history here.

When suddenly, the woman that I do know turns to me and says, ever so graciously, "you know about this all too well, don't you?".

I could not have had a nicer acknowledgement of what I was feeling right then. She was so gentle about it, as was the other woman, who has experienced a tremendous loss! I was so grateful. We carried on with this conversation to it's natural end. I didn't have to fight or flee.

And once again, the terrible bond of loss found its way into another circle of my life and day. So many of us bound together - it's scarey and comforting all at once. We each have our own unique story, but at the core of it, we're not so different.