Not trying to be melodramatic, but I wanted to share my thoughts ... Today was the bittersweet last day of the cherry blossoms; the ancient city where I live has thousands of these beautiful trees that only bloom for such a short time. The cherry blossom - pretty, inspiring, short-lived - falling at the moment of its greatest beauty, reminding us of the fragility of life. Yet the flowers are also a symbol of hope and promise, as we know they will bloom again next spring, if only for a short time. So today the blossoms are gone, and today is dull and muted compared to yesterday's soft vibrant color.
There is a death poem in a beloved Japanese film, The 47 Samurai -
"Sadder than blossoms swept off by the wind, a life torn away in the fullness of spring.”
All of this is what I thought of today as I thought of AJ.
This experience from the beginning of Thread 1 --- getting to "know" just a bit about AJ and Zach and even a few WSers who shared moments of their lives with us, getting to brainstorm and hypothesize and deduce with brains much bigger than mine, watching so much of this sad story unfold in "real time," living on the other side of the world yet feeling strangely connected to you who are strangers to me as we all pray and hope together from afar, empathizing with the pain, grief, and anger of family members whose lives have been forever altered by AJ's presence and now AJ's absence ... all of this has been remarkable. To Zach and to the prominent WSers here, as dark as this time has been, know that I am inspired by your dedication and passion. I know that there is still light and goodness in the world because I see it in how much you care. I wish every missing child had you all as their voice.
Zach, I know many have already said it, but if you are still reading here, please know that we are thinking of you and your girls. Next year the cherry trees will blossom again, and they will always remind me of AJ.