Loss of a great man

My heart breaks for a friend and tri team member tonight. We just heard the sad news last night that her husband passed away very unexpectedly while at work yesterday.
They were married 27 years I believe; He was such a kind, caring man, and you could tell how much he loved Karen and took great pride in seeing her race and being able to support her at those races.

I did not know Richard extremely well, but I did know Richard well enough to learn that he was an extremely lovable and encouraging type of guy. He always had a smile on his face and you could count on him, at every race, to cheer you up even if you were feeling horrible. He was a teddy-bear type of guy, if that makes sense :)

I remember him talking to me after the Heart o'Dixie this year, about how proud he was of Karen breaking her time from last year and you could just see in his face how proud he was of her and how much he loved that woman.

I have never experienced a close family member's death. I don't even know how to begin to know how that feels. I know the time will come though; we all have to experienced it unfortunately. It's just the way life works. Sadly, we never know quite when that time might be.

I think it is a reality check and a reminder to all of us; Love the ones you care for every waking moment; Let them know how much they mean to you. Show them how much you appreciate them. Do it daily. You just never know how long you have on this earth.

I pray that Karen will find the strength from God to get through this extremely difficult time. I think it will begin one day at a time; The beauty that I would imagine would give her comfort is knowing that he is in a much better place; He is not sad. He does not want her to be sad either. Perhaps if we only could catch a glimpse of our loved one in heaven.......maybe that would be all it would take to be at peace and know that our day will come where we will be united with that loved one again.

Prayers and love to you, Karen.