The loss of another good man

My husband joined a fraternity in college. We were young, engaged, and living together at the time and I was hesitant to "let" him join concerned about..well..all the things you've ever heard about fraternities. But as a meet more of the guys I came to see them as fairly typically guys and they were respectful of me and our relationship. I assumed they would be apart of our lives for a few years and that would be it, like so many college and HS friendships...but I couldn't have been more wrong. A few years after graduation we learned that some of the group a few years older then us were still hanging out together, including a yearly Christmas party, because we knew a few of the older guys we were invited one year, and then the next, and then to a birthday party, then to this and that and eventually to everything! By then most of the guys were married or in serious relationships so the women/wives soon found their own friendships. I now count a few of those women as my closest and dearest friends! As the years have passed more people have been added to the group and not all of them are from the fraternity, they started off as neighbors, co-workers, and so on and soon the group called itself The Group Of Friends. I could never have imagined that a fraternity would bring so much to my life.

Last year a very dear friend ended his 3 year battle with cancer. He was in his 30's, and married with 2 small children. He was well known and respected in his community and should have had a long and bright future ahead of him.

Last night we lost another friend. Another young man battling cancer. I had only met him a time or two but he was very close to several of the guys in the group. He too was on his 30's and had a bright future ahead of him.

So today I am sad, not just for the loss of a good man but also that this group of friends has to again mourn one of it's own. We've attended the funerals of several father's of the group and while that was certainly painful, it's also apart of life that a child buries his parents but for a friend to bury a friend, that is a different kind of pain.