The Show Must Go On

Yesterday evening, as my kids and I sat with our extended family around a belated Thanksgiving feast, I was keenly aware of another loss, the loss of a friend that I have dealt with on my own terms, and blogged about numerous times. But I've had a harder time being willing to be confronted with that loss in terms of what it is like for my cousin and his kids to lose their wife and mom, respectively. As we went around the table saying what we were thankful for, I could feel his pain as other family members talked about being happy everyone was together, that their families are healthy and happy, etc. I could almost feel him thinking that not everyone was together, that his family wasn't healthy or happy, and it just about broke my heart.

This Queen song seems appropriate to mark this day, because it isn't as if other people shouldn't be grateful that their families are healthy and happy because someone has died. The show must go on indeed, and I know that she would want it to, and without the heavy heart just as soon as we can muster up the strength to feel the pain and then release it:

Empty spaces - what are we living for
Abandoned places - I guess we know the score
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for...
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore
The show must go on,
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on.
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?
I guess I'm learning, I must be warmer now
I'll soon be turning, round the corner now
Outside the dawn is breaking
But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free
The show must go on
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on
My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly - my friends
The show must go on
The show must go on
I'll face it with a grin
I'm never giving in
On - with the show -
I'll top the bill, I'll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the -
On with the show -
The show must go on...