When I was 17, we had a classmate who passed away in an automobile accident. He wasn't a close friend, but I went to a very small school, so everyone knew everyone pretty well. Everyone went to his funeral service, and I expected to be disturbed by seeing him (open casket), but what was truly awful was seeing his mother. She was so distraught, she had to be sedated, and she was clearly still medicated at the service. She looked like a shell of a person--like the loss had just drained everything left in her. She didn't say much, but she hugged every one of us so tightly. It has been 20 years, and I still can't think of her without tearing up.
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