My grandfather died last night. It was in Hawaii, and he was in hospice care. I was told he'd wanted to be alone. 

I barely knew him; had only seen him once in the last twenty years. All this to say: I believe my duties here revolve more around my mother than around my grandfather. In any case, he's not having a funeral. There will be a bit of a ceremony at the VFW next summer.

The stages of life! Babies are born in all kinds of circumstances, from happy family occasions to shameful, lonely, finger-pointing situations; from fast and healthy to dangerous, premature and so on.

People die in all ways too, and I know so little about it. As a Christian, I have many beliefs about life and death, but I know enough to know that Christians have thought much more deeply about death than have I.

I'm a 34-year old grad student. Which is to say, I'm in a world where I'm among the most mature, and most experienced. Then I get little windows to see how little I really know.