My boss and friend of 9 years passed away last night. He'd been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma last year, but after chemo, thought he beat it. A month ago, it came back, and he was given 3 to 4 months to live - a year if he did light chemo. Bob was not a man to go down without a fight. Last week he was in the office, obviously in pain, but still living like he was never going to end. We all thought he'd somehow, miraculously, beat it again.
And then he wasn't feeling well, so didn't come to work on Monday, and three days later he's gone. I would say without warning, but he had time. He got his affairs in order. He said his goodbyes. I think we're the ones who didn't believe he'd go.
This is the kind of thing that makes us yearn for the happy ending of books. In life, happy endings are hard to come by. The best we can do is handle reality with grace and acceptance.
Farewell, my friend. You will be missed.
