Sadness

This was a hard weekend for Mikael and I. We lost our dear friend Claudia to cancer. Although we only got to know her here in Rome (she worked as a vet on avian flu at FAO), her love and enthusiasm for life and her ability to truly enjoy every moment in the short time we get on this Earth has really left a deep impression on both of us. She had a wonderful husband, Fletch, who was by her side every moment and a daughter, Cati, who is Miki's age. I so clearly remember the very first of many lunches together when she told me that she had had rectal cancer (this was before the cancer's recurrence). We had many lunches after that - some spent discussing issues at her job, some about her scooter adventures, others about trips our families were taking, and still more about potty training and transitioning our kids out of the crib. We had many servings of rice and beans at their house, hung out at the zoo, at Miki's 2nd birthday... So many friends in our life come and go, I guess it is the nature of this kind of lifestyle. But when you find someone you click with I find the bond is really quick and strong- at least it is for me. It is still hard for me to grasp the fact that she just did not go on to her next posting in Ottawa, like planned. I could go on and on but there is simply no good end to this post. I want to just say - I believe in God, I can accept these things but I will never understand them. But I also have to say - I believe in science, I can understand how these things happen, but I can never accept them. So I am not exactly sure where that leaves me in the end.
Claudia---- we miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!