Clarification

I wanted to clarify some questions I've been receiving about Simeon. I knew when I posted the picture of him with a cigarette hanging out of this mouth and then explained how he died, people would think it all made sense. Why would he smoke if he had severe asthma? I'm not sure when that picture was taken of Sim. I would have to guess a couple years ago. I got it from this site.

Simeon was diagnosed with asthma in January, a month and a half before he died. Treating his asthma was new to him. The tragedy was that Sim could have learned to live with it but it came on too fast and too strong one Friday afternoon. They had to get a special prescription filled and somehow, the pharmacy called it into the wrong store. The bottom line is that when Stevie went to pick up the prescription, it wasn't there. This added more time to the whole damn thing and by the time she finally got back to Sim, well...yeah...

Smoking makes me angry. It upsets me because people can quit. However, it is a tough habit to break. Many of my closest friends smoke. I have never had even one. Who am I to really judge, though? What does it matter when someone gets lung cancer or dies? I just can't have the attitude of "it serves them right" or "they should have known better."

Now for another clarification. Why do I care so much and post so much about someone I meant once? Because after Simeon died, I grieved for him every day because Ben was with me every day. I was one of the people who listened to him, cried with him, read from the bible with him, prayed with him...almost every single day for months after. Simeon's death changed my life. It really made me stretch my understanding of death, loss, mourning. My role as a friend bordered one of a grief counselor because there was no way I was going to let Ben go through it totally alone. Ben's family was in Kalamazoo, Atlanta, the east coast and his girlfriend lived in Cincinnati. Ben had us.

I really had no business trying to help him. I was way out of my realm and comfort zone. It affected me in many ways, positive and negative. But that's what you do for the people you love. Sometimes you suck it up and pretend you can handle all of it. You hang on to the truth that God will not give us more than we can handle. And really, what do I have to complain about? I didn't lose a member of my family. I didn't even lose a friend. I never felt like that, though.

I guess I just wanted to explain. I always feel like I need to explain myself. There it is....