Death, honesty, and protection

Brutal and touching:

We decided not to tell the kids. Marla knew that once our three daughters understood that their mother had been given 1,000 days to live, they’d start counting.

They would not be able to enjoy school, friends, their teams, or birthday parties. They’d be watching too closely—how she looked, moved, acted, ate, or didn’t. Marla wanted her daughters to stay children: unburdened, confident that tomorrow would look like yesterday.

My Wife Was Dying, and We Didn’t Tell Our Children

The entire article is worth reading. In addition to being a touching portrait of Jon Mehlman’s relationship with his wife, and her relationship with their children, it’s a provocative exploration of whether or when kids and other family need to know the whole truth.