07/01/2013

   I picked up the phone and dialed the number. Even at this late hour I was hoping that maybe for some reason my mom and stepdad would not answer the phone, but, of course, they did. These were the only grandparents my kids had ever had the chance to really know. I knew what I was about to say would devastate them. I told my mom what had happened. She was silent for several seconds, then I heard her relaying the news to my stepdad. When she spoke again she said only that they were coming right out. (They lived about 20 miles away). I didn't even have to ask her to come. She didn't even ask if we wanted them to come (which we did). They were just coming. I felt a great sense of relief. They now knew what had happened and were on their way to be with us. The next call I had to make was to my teaching colleague at work. I knew I would not be going to school the next day, and I wanted him to know why so he could help the substitute teacher get through the day. He was a former police officer who had seen a lot of tragic things during his career, but the news caught him by surprise. He had known Curtis when our son was a student at my school. He said not to worry, that he would take care of everything, and was there anything else we needed him to do. I asked him just to let everyone else know what had happened, and I would be in touch when we knew about the arrangements. Arrangements? That was the first time I'd even thought about having to make arrangements for our son's services. How does one go about planning for your child's funeral? That's not how things are supposed to go. Parents don't plan services for their child. The child is supposed to-someday-plan services for the parents. Why was this happening?