I used to think losing my wife was the worst thing that could happen to me.
Raising five kids alone felt like the limit of what a person could carry.
I was wrong.
The worst part wasn’t losing her.
It was realizing, too late, that I had failed her while she was still here.
Sarah died six months ago.
Even now, there are mornings when I wake up and, for a second, everything feels normal. I expect to hear her in the kitchen — the quiet clatter of cups, the way she moved before the kids woke up.
Then the silence settles in.
And I remember.
She’s gone.
The kids don’t say it out loud, but sometimes they still look toward the door like they’re waiting for it to open.
Like she might walk back in if we’re quiet enough.
The day she died didn’t feel like a tragedy at first.
It felt like a normal Saturday.
My mom was over. The kids were running around outside. Sarah was sitting in the sun while I was at the grill, pretending I knew what I was doing.
Then she said she felt lightheaded.
Ten minutes later, she couldn’t stand.
