Twice the joy, Twice the sorrow

Brenda and Bruce were the light of our lives. They were truly little miracles from above. My husband and I waited years before we were blessed with their births. They were both very small and very weak. Bruce was the smaller and weaker of the two. Brenda came home when she was three weeks old. Bruce was almost six weeks old before he joined his little sister in the crib set up only inches away from her's. It was the happiest day of our lives when we laid little Brucie next to his sister. We had "Twice The Joy."

Brenda had been plagued with colic, or so we thought, the three weeks of screaming till all hours of the night, ceased the first night her brother layed sleeping next to her. Brenda awoke during the night only for her feedings. If one twin awoke for a feeding, we found it easier to awaken the other twin to feed at the same time.

They were inseparable. As small children they shared the same interest as well as the same friends. As they became older, both their interest and friends became separate to them. Even though those things changed, they were still as close as one.

The years quickly passed. Both would be graduating high school in just another year. They had plans to attend the same college. "Mom there is no way we are ready to part company just yet," Brenda said when we suggested two different colleges. Bruce smiled his approval at his sisters announcement. We were delighted that they were still so close.

Our hearts were broken only a few months later. Their big night of the Junior Prom was coming up. Both had dates and looked foreward to their big night of...Freedom...

Bruce Sr.insisted he was going to drive them when the big night finally arrived. Both my angels looked beautiful and glowed with such magnificence. I know it is only a mother looking through the eyes of love, but they both took my breath away. I took their pictures before they climbed into the car, laughing and tickling each other, with such a show of love they had for each other. Feelings of both pride and dread filled my heart.

An hour later my whole world collapsed around me. The blackness surrounded my very soul. The drunk driver never saw these three angels, as he approached the intersection. In one great flash of fire, my world ended.

Brenda was gone within an instant. Her dad and brother layed side by side in the same room. I stood vigil with a heavy broken heart. The first night I sat in the dimness of the room. A shimering shadow approached where I was sitting and praying, and layed a comforting hand on my arm. It than moved away and stood between both beds. There it remained...waiting...

Late that night my darling husband came out of his deep sleep. His eyes immediately fell on his precious son. Bruce was all hooked up to life sustaining equipment. The beeping of the monitors and whispered breathing of the respirator filled the room. It also filled us with a despair we never felt before.

Bruce was taken off the life support system just as the sun started to come up. He opened his eyes, looked toward the corner of the room that was still in shadows, smiled as he reached out his hand, and was gone to join his sister, who we knew was...waiting to guide him home...The only sounds now in the room, were our sobs of grief, and a fluttering of wings.

Bruce Sr. made a full recovery. His heart and soul will always carry the hurt and pain, as will mine, with..."Twice The Sorrow"...

Submitted by: Name Withheld

Greiving over the loss of a child? Please read
Lent For Awhile