Changing Tenses

      Yesterday the world lost a beautiful soul. My aunt Glenda(Ginna) passed away. She was only 58 and was in a car accident. It seems like lately there have been so many deaths, too early in life, and hitting too close to home. Was it always this way, or do I just notice it more now that I am getting older? I have had so many friend lose their babies or children lately as well. Was this always the case? Was it always the norm? Or was this another thing I was blind to also. My heart is aching right now. One thing that makes it harder, is when you are telling a person about your loved one, and you forget to change tenses. From is to was.
     I noticed this yesterday when I was telling a friend about how sweet my aunt Ginna is/was. I would type is, and then have to go back. Delete, delete... and type was. Two simple words, but they make all the difference. When you change is to was, it is like it is final. That person is no longer with us. She was yesterday. Today she isn't. My heart hurts right now as I am writing this. It hurts for her children, it hurts for my mom, it hurts for my sweet, amazingly strong Granny (her sister) who has dealt with so many hard things lately. My heart also hurts for all of my beautiful friends dealing with losses right now. This is something you never, ever get over. Why do people so young have to leave us? Even when they are old it still doesn't hurt any less even though it is "normal", whatever that is. After a while though, you learn to live with the heartache. You just block it out after time. Keep yourself busy, somehow manage to go on living, but if you ever stop for a minute and think about it, it is a fresh as when it happened. So all of those people who tell others to get over a loss, obviously have never lost anyone important to them. Because it is something you never "get over".