A small Good thing
We often think life goes on as it should without many interruptions, each milestone is celebrated, and each disappointment is encouraged in families across the nation. When we think of children, we imagine watching them grow through all of the milestones and all of the accomplishments. We don 't want to deal with losing our children to death particularly when we lose them in a tragic way by illness or in a blink of an eye. The William Wendt center states that “Everyone grieves in their own unique way; there is no "right way" to grieve. Grieving is not a sign of weakness or failure. It is not something to ignore or "get over." Grief is not something we deal with as a society; the compassion of family and friends helps us. At times compassion lends itself through a stranger, unexpected it helps us in the process of healing although we often never understand the reason why.
In Raymond Carver’s story A small Good thing, Ann and Howard live a relatively perfect life, living each day as a planned routine, Howard going to work each day and Ann taking care of the household duties and their son who they both love deeply. Howard and Ann are a relatively close knit family, from what the eye can see they function well together and are grateful for what they have, which we see for example, in Ann choosing Scotty’s favorite chocolate birthday cake. On Howard’s drive home he was appreciative about never having to deal with those destructive “forces that could cripple or bring down a man”. Howard truly recognized that he was lucky that nothing ever greatly impacted him and that he was able to live life smoothly with no interruptions, Ann and him shared a connection in the fact that they never really had to suffer unspeakable loss or immanent tragedy.
The qualities that are needed for a loving relationship are being able to communicate, supportive of one another, understanding of each other needs and being caring. Psychologist Andras Angayi
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