I think about death a lot. Maybe more than the average person, but I don't know why it's consistently on my thought process playlist. I am not planning on dying anytime soon, but who really does? (Unless you're over 80ish and that's all you really care to do is to die...I only know this from working in several nursing homes.) Everyone eventually dies, (unless, of course, you're one of the 3 Nephites), and there's nothing we can do about it. So I guess I think more about why people die when they do, not why they die. Why is it that some people live a life full of trials, heartaches, and joys, while others get to go home early. What did we do before this life to determine when we would return home? Isn't death technically a re-birth? The birth of a child is something that is in most cases a completely joyous occasion. So why isn't death the same way? Why does it bring so much bitterness (in some cases), so many tears, and so much pain; deep holes in our hearts that will never go away? I don't know the answers. All I know is that we care. People care. They love each other. And that is why death hurts our hearts. Whether the death is of a best friend or an acquaintance, an elderly person or a young vibrant youth waiting to live their hopes and dreams, there is always a little sting. All I know is that we have to keep working to care for each other. Timing is the answer to everything it seems, and the timing of a death is always in the Lord's hands. We just have to keep pushing along with faith that we can make it through it.

To all my friends and family who have passed, and to all my friends and their families who have lost loved ones.