All for the name of love....
While sitting in church yesterday, during the part where they list the prayer requests, one request was made for strength for a girl who had lost BOTH of her grandparents. Hearing something like this, I immediately thought that something horrible happened. (I mean really, wouldn't you if you had an overactive imagination like mine?) Something along the lines of a fatal car accident, a faulty a/c unit or maybe something romantic like the Notebook. So naturally, as we are walking out of church, I ask my mother for the back story and without fail, she knew. It ends up that the cause of death for this elderly couple was a homicide/suicide. The grandmother had been ailing for years with Alzheimer's and the grandfather was recently diagnosed with a terminal disease. He was given months, if not less, to live. So in order to help his family and out of love for his wife, he ended both of their lives with one fatal shot. I walked out of church and drove home in a complete state of shock. You don't ever hear about things like that happening...that's just something meant for movie and tv plots right?!? So due to my need to want to know everything, I googled it..."murder suicide elderly couple, Texas". Not knowing really where to start. To my dismay and complete horror....the number of stories/hits that popped up were extreme...we're talking 23,500 results in .18 seconds extreme. All of the stories listed were about couples who had done the same exact thing. Couples that decided before getting sick, that they wouldn't become a burden to their families, couldn't live without the other and agreed to a 'suicide-pact'.
So this got me thinking internet, I know, dangerous. My question for you, would you consider agreeing to that with your love?
Don't get me wrong, growing up and visiting my grandparents in the hospital and various nursing homes, my sister and I decided early on that we'd never let the other be put in a place like that , just waiting for death. But I doubt now, as I did then, that we'd ever act on it. well that and some days, I doubt that I'll make it to 40, let alone 80!!! I understand how they didn't want to put that kind of burden on their families. Taking care of an ailing loved one is not fun. My best friend did it for her grandpa during the last year of his life. There are days that she has completely blocked out because the man that she cared for was not her grandpa. But on the flip side, she got to know and love her grandpa like no one else in the family ever did.
I never did find the story about the couple that we prayed for in church, which is probably a good thing. I really don't need to know everything.
posted by Melinda @ 11:13 AM
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