Wet

The whole day has felt like the earth is drowning.

First, Minnesota is having torrential rains like I haven't seen since the great Iowa flood of 1993.  The marshland behind our house is filled to the brim.  Good foresight by our city, installing these retention marshes, kept my neighborhood from washing out.  The ducks are loving it.

The second source of water was my eyes, and the eyes of my friends.  Our friend's funeral was today.  Only 49 years old and taken by Inflammatory Breast Cancer.   This particularly brutal form of breast cancer is supposed to be rare, but I personally know two women who have died from IBC in the last 3 years.

She was the center of her family, and leaves 3 kids including an 8-year-old.  We're all just crushed.  She was so vital, so full of energy and humor, so loved.

She was the organizer of my daughter's soccer team for years.  They have played together in summer leagues and school sports since they were about nine.  When your kids are grouped together like that,  you become like a family, parents too.  One of their team lost her Dad suddenly just two years ago - we miss him so.  This kind of grief is getting a little too familiar to these kids.  They were all there together, as were many of the boys team.  They know how to support a grieving friend - they've become quite good at it.  And they had a game tonight, but the field is flooded.

And frankly I feel far too young to be burying friends.