The clock of life keeps ticking. Quiet announcements from friends and peers appear from time to time about the passing of fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts. I note the passing of each member of that generation as it comes. In the wise words of Mufasa, this is simply the circle of life. Earlier this week, I saw a post of one of a very close friend from my youth, sharing the news of her father’s passing. And the emotions hit me like a wave. Tears. Sadness. Of course, the depth of my own feelings was nothing compared to the ocean of grief my dear friend must be going through. To be honest, I was not close to her father and did not know him well. So at first, I puzzled over why the news struck me so deeply. I later surmised that this news hit much closer to home because of the link to my childhood I shared with this friend. I'm aware of life's impermanence, the edges of time we are all bound to, and what it means for my own parents. But moments like this bring the inevi...