4 ms·

My father died younger than 50 years old when I was a child. My mother was left behind with several small children and financial struggles. On the day of his fu

My father died younger than 50 years old when I was a child. My mother was left behind with several small children and financial struggles. On the day of his funeral there was a funeral of an 18 year old boy afterwards. She has told me she consoled his girlfriend and when she saw the young girl standing there crying, she thought that even though her own situation was as bad as it could possibly get, this was even worse. Must have been a strange moment for her. Maybe even a bit uplifting, as perverse as this sounds.

hhw 10y ago
Other people's tragedies can be cathartic, or at least so I recall being taught in high school English class from nearly two decades ago. Knowing that someone has it worse than you do can make you feel better about your own situation, not due to schadenfreude but just by helping to put things in perspective.
tbihl 10y ago
I've been blessed to be very inexperienced with funerals. Two grandparents, an aunt, and a high school classmate. With my grandparents, we knew it was coming and had lots of chances to visit in the preceding year. Granted you always wish you'd done so more, but those ones are relatively easy to handle and feel like family reunions mostly. My aunt, who committed suicide around age 50, was much harder, despite her having dealt with mental illness all her life such that it wasn't out of nowhere. My grandfather, who outlived her by three years, was devastated (his wife, my grandmother, not being around as she'd passed away 45 years earlier). When my friend died, I saw his parents quite a few times in the following year. Every single one of those times weighed heavier on my mind than any of those three funerals, despite those having been for family members who I knew quite well. When comparing these early life tragedies to older people passing, the only similarity is death.

hhw 10y ago

Other people's tragedies can be cathartic, or at least so I recall being taught in high school English class from nearly two decades ago. Knowing that someone has it worse than you do can make you feel better about your own situation, not due to schadenfreude but just by helping to put things in perspective.

tbihl 10y ago

I've been blessed to be very inexperienced with funerals. Two grandparents, an aunt, and a high school classmate. With my grandparents, we knew it was coming and had lots of chances to visit in the preceding year. Granted you always wish you'd done so more, but those ones are relatively easy to handle and feel like family reunions mostly. My aunt, who committed suicide around age 50, was much harder, despite her having dealt with mental illness all her life such that it wasn't out of nowhere. My grandfather, who outlived her by three years, was devastated (his wife, my grandmother, not being around as she'd passed away 45 years earlier). When my friend died, I saw his parents quite a few times in the following year. Every single one of those times weighed heavier on my mind than any of those three funerals, despite those having been for family members who I knew quite well. When comparing these early life tragedies to older people passing, the only similarity is death.