Children lost

A terrible thing happened on our street this weekend. One of my neighbours lost his children. Forever!

It should never happen, but it turns out that it can.

Imagine a whirl wind romance over the internet. Follow this up with a divorce, full custody of the children to the wife, and the newly ex husband left with nothing. The newly freed wife off on a plane across the world to pursue her love interests with her internet beau, with her children in tow.

Far be it for me to comment on other people’s relationships but I do feel for my neighbour.

Imagine knowing that you have said goodbye to your children and that you may not see them again for many years... Imagine knowing that your future relationship with your children will be telephone only and that your life as a dad is over, even though it should not be...even though you don’t want it to be.

The pain inside! The agony of the loss! The endless questioning of self, what could I have done differently? The sense of failure! Wanting to forget but not daring to! Wanting to move on but without deserting your flesh and blood. It has to be tough, far tougher than I would dare to imagine.

It makes me want to go out and fix it, but unfortunately there is little that I can change. All I can offer is friendship and support. But it still makes me feel rather helpless.