Perspective: Picking up the pieces after a Marine's death

Christopher Ramos was killed in April, 2004

It's true what they say about the knock at the door, Dianna Ramos says.

When the door opens, and the military officers are there, it's a gut-dropping, time-warping moment. And it opens to a new world.

For some - the lucky among the unlucky - that world is full of deeper family bonds, grief-forged spirituality and a new sense of resolve for a well-lived life.

But for others, that opened door lets in a chill that pushes families apart, isolates grieving spouses and parents and sends the future into 100 different directions.

Ramos wishes it was different, but she counts herself among the latter group since the loss of her husband, Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Ramos.

Read the rest at the Albuquerque Tribune