"We were supposed to go..."

     I guess you could say that my job is ultimately to give people what they want and to make them happy. You want to travel because it will make you happy. You want to take your kids to Walt Disney World because it will make you and them happy. You go on a honeymoon because it will make you and your new spouse happy. Trust me, I love the happiness that traveling can give you (hence why I became a travel agent).
     Today, I traveled, and it did not make me happy. Not the happiness you should get from making a trip. Today, I traveled to see a torn, broken woman laying in a recliner. I saw a woman who became a single mom in literally a night. A woman that NEVER cries cried out for someone that can no longer hear her. This is a sight I hope to never have to witness again.

     Today, I couldn't make her happy. Today, I couldn't make her smile. She couldn't dance or laugh or cut up like she always does. She laid there clinging to a photo of the man that brought her happiness. A man kneeling on the green Mississippi grass with his daughter sitting on his knee. A man with a smile as big as his heart. Today, I saw a woman cling to that picture for dear life as she closed her eyes and was still for the first time in hours.

     As I sat to the right of her on a cold brick floor, myself among others gently laughed at the funny, charming guy that this man was. She smiled, laughed, and cried. In the midst of our remembrance, she looked at me and through tears said, "We were supposed to go to Disney with Jodie and the boys." I looked at her and said, "You'll still go. We'll still go."
     "We were supposed to go..." They were supposed to go to Walt Disney World. They were also supposed to see their boys play ball in junior high and high school. They were supposed to see their boys graduate. They were supposed to see their boys have families of their own. They were supposed to grow old together. They were supposed to. They were supposed to do a lot of things.
     At this point, of the moment and of this blog, I'm at a lose for words. I selfishly sit here and think about the magnitude of her lose and if I could even handle something like that. I honestly can't even fathom the hurt she feels right now. I can't even imagine what is going through the minds of those sweet boys and little girl.

     But I can't make her happy. Honestly, no one can right now. We can make her smile for a moment, but it fades. If only the pain could fade as easily.  And it may never. Regardless, one day, she'll be able to stand up. She'll be able to watch her boys play ball, grow up, have families, laugh, cut up. She'll see them go to Disney- just not the way she wanted them to. Not the way any of us wanted them to. But it will be done.

     One day she'll be stronger, go to work, and laugh. Until then, I and everyone else around her will do what we can. We'll do our jobs not as travel agents, teachers, nurses, or firefighters. But we will do our job as friends and families. We'll try to bring the happiness to her.

     So I'm going to end this blog by saying the cliche thing, but the most truthful thing that I can think of right now. If you want to hug your spouse or child across the room, hug them. If you want to tell somebody you love them, tell them. If you want to have a weekend alone at home with the love of your life, turn your phones off and stay home. If you want to go on that family vacation, find a way to take it. We are not promised tomorrow. We are not promised the next ten minutes. So stay home or go somewhere. Don't always put that happiness off, because you may never get the chance to go as "we."