Life and it's unexpected surprises....

I got a phone call early this morning from one of my kids at school.  He told me his father had phoned him Friday morning, wanting to visit with him during the day. That was why he wasn't at school.  I said I was glad to know and I had been worried about him.  Then he told me his father unexpectedly passed away yesterday morning.  And he sobbed.  And, I cried with him.  He doesn't come from the most upstanding family, in fact, most of them have been arrested on drug charges.  All with the exception of this kid.  He's a good kid with a bad hand dealt to him in life.  And what can you do?  I found this quote and think it's rather appropriate for my mood tonight.....

   "We all carry around so much pain in our hearts.  Love and pain and beauty.  They all seem to go together like one little tidy confusing package.  It's a messy business, life.  It's hard to figure-full of surprises. Some good.  Some bad."  Northern Exposure, The Big Kiss, 1991