PLATITUDES

A recent tragic death prompted this exchange at the funeral home:

One person said, "Those poor little girls.", in referring to the death of a young mother who left behind a husband, a daughter and step-daughter.

The second person said, "I feel sorry for the husband, the kids will be OK; they're young; they'll get over it."

The first person said, "Get over it? They'll NEVER get over it; they'll always have a hole in their hearts; they might be raised by their dad or by the grandparents, but they'll never have that mother."

The second person either missed the point or the passion of the first person, and answered, "But kids are so resilient."

The first person answered, "I couldn't disagree more! They will never be able to grow up to be the people they should have been."

How I admired the passion of the first person and detested the platitudes of the second person, but I decided for once to keep my mouth shut as the first person had said it all.