Bad Things Happen in 3’s

I know it is a superstition but I am sure that you have heard the phrase, “Bad things happen in threes”.  After Francine died, we kept hoping that this would not be the case for our family, but considering her death and my mom’s were so close together, we could not help think it.  It sounds kind of silly, but my mom went in the hospital on 3/8 and Francine on 4/9 so we sort of “half joked” to stay away from St. Barnabas Medical Center on 5/10.  Secretly, I thought that if we could get past that date, maybe our “bad luck streak” would be over.

Sadly for our family, we did not get that far.  Today, my sister’s father-in-law passed away.  He was 76 and had a fatal heart attack at his home.  I was not close to him at all, so I sort of feel like I am standing on the sidelines this time.  He lived in Maryland and did not come up here to New Jersey very often.  My sister and her family made the trip to his home a few times a year.  They will be heading to Maryland for his services.

Although his death is not affecting me personally, I just question “why”?  It is still our family that is being affected.  My dad is asking, “What did we do?  Is our family being punished for something?”  I don’t think so, but really…it does make me wonder.

I have definitely come to the conclusion that life is fragile.  We need to be better to one another.  We need to mend broken relationships.  Keep the positives in our lives and get rid of the negatives.  I know that my brother-in-law is struggling with the fact that he and his dad had not spoken in awhile, and that last time they spoke was an argument.

I don’t know if I believe in the quote, “everything happens for a reason”, but right now, I think our family need to focus on that, even if we never find out what that reason is.

Tagged: bad things happen in 3, death, everything happens for a reason, grief, sister, superstition