In 1 week, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays leave this world. On a more personal note, my friend's sister has been in critical condition for the last week. They haven't figured out what's wrong with her. She's my age, 33. It seems impossible that someone I know well could die. The only people I've known personally to die have been over the age of 80. You can't be surprised when someone of that age passes on. But a friend? Someone I've hung out with, joked around with? It's hard to accept. She has children the same age as my kids. Her daughter and mine are friends. How do I come to grips with this? Maybe she'll pull through and everything will be okay. But what if she doesn't? And how is it that in this day doctor's can treat a person for over a week and still not have a clue what's wrong with her?

And of course, my friend is frantic. It's her only sibling. She's sick and no one knows why. Today, her sister was supposed to come home. Instead, she gets a call saying to hurry to the hospital, they don't know how long she has? I'm trying to be supportive, but really I'm super freaked out. I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss.

Here's hoping death has had his fill for a while.