Shattered

I had a post written about our trip back to the US last week but in light of the weekend events across the midwest and southern states in America, places we love, I wanted to express how sorry we are.

While in Florida, we spoke by phone to Chuck and Maureen. With my family in Canada and Dallas's family in New Zealand, Chuck and Maureen were our surrogate American parents. They were grandparents to our children. They are the most thoughtful, kind and generous people imaginable. We learned that Maureen's younger sister, her only sister, back in South Africa, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Time is very short. Understandably, Maureen is inconsolable.

Additionally, we received terrible, terrible, news this morning involving dear friends of ours and the unexpected, accidental, death of a parent. This couple stood up for Dallas and me in our wedding. She is my business partner. He is one of my husband's closest friends. The details of the accident are sketchy but none of that matters.

For the first time since landing in New Zealand in October of last year, we are wishing we were back in Arkansas to be there for our friends.

Our hearts are broken.