Girding my loins

[cyclonefence]

I have a problem with "well wishes." Are your wishes themselves healthy? I understand where this comes from--"I wish you well"--but it doesn't change the fact that "well" is an adverb (the "to be" in "I wish you well" is understood). And to say "I'm sending you good wishes" really doesn't convey the same spirit as "well wishes," except that "well wishes" is screechingly wrong.

I love Jimmy Carter. I loved it that he insisted on carrying his own luggage onto Air Force One, and that Nancy Reagan sneered at him for doing it. I love it that he is a kind and modest man who doesn't just talk the talk. I love it that he follows his faith.

His death is going to elicit "well wishes" for his wife and family, and I am girding my loins.

[CTyankee]

1. When I speak to those who is grieving a death I try to validate their grief as in "You must miss him

or recall an instance of that person's humanity. The Jewish tradition of sitting shivah is so important. You can sit with the grieving one and muse about how much he or she was loved, how he/she laughed or sang or just a wonderful memory. I can only hope it is helpful.