I just got to spend 12 days in The Netherlands, where my son spotted this item in a Farmer’s Market. (see below)
Quite the patriotic marshmallows!

We got back home late on July 3rd and pretty much collapsed – but for July 4th we did, indeed, rally for a BBQ, though unfortunately without marshmallows. Afterwards we sat down to watch the movie “Independence Day” (This made me wonder if there is a limit on how many people can watch the same movie on Netflix at the same time.)?If you don’t mind me spoiling a bit of the plot, consider two death related moments that caught my attention.

(1) Please don’t tell a child that someone who has died is sleeping. It can make them afraid to go to sleep themselves, for starters. I was also so sad that the child wasn’t helped to say goodbye to her mother. In another post I will write about talking to children about death.?In this movie, of course, we’ll give the poor dad a break, first off because he’s pretty immersed in trying to avert the end of the world. Secondly, the death of his wife has stunned him, which can make any of us flounder. It’s important to give ourselves a break, too.

(2) Do we tell someone that they are dying? Does that take away hope that might otherwise help them live longer? This has been a personal question for me.?In his last time of seeing his wife before she dies, this man begins by telling her that her doctors say that she’s doing well. She’s able to respond by affectionately calling him a liar, which opens the door to the truth. Watching them hug and cry is brutally heart wrenching, but having this goodbye is what they can share together in the reality of the moment, in the face of the reality of Death.