Grief and Arancini

Sorrow is the Mother of Compassion

It’s Good Friday and we are 28 days into the quarantine period due to Covid-19. My grandmother, “Granzie” died last week. My heart broke twice; once when she died and again when we learned she tested positive for Coronavirus a few days ago. I hated that she was one of the statistics, those cold, hard numbers reported at the end of the day. She was a strong, strong woman. It doesn’t seem right. 

My other grandmother died only a couple months ago. I never realized how much they are both a part of me until they were gone. 

It’s a funny thing about heartbreak. The only thing that can truly heal it is love; the giving out of love, not the receiving of it. Helping others fills the void, the chasm of the pain. Feeling love, forgiveness, appreciation, they are the balm that heals that wound. Fear and love are the two basic emotions. You can’t feel them both at the same time. You have to choose. All pain and suffering stems from fear. And love can conquer fear. The day we got Granzie’s test results back, I felt so down and dark. Then we brought a neighbor who had thrown her back out some arancini my husband made, and suddenly, love and light lifted my heart up again.