they always come in three's

I finished exams and did end up passing but that was soon to be the least of my worries.  I checked my cellphone noting that I had a voicemail from my mother-in-law.  I immediately knew something was off as she never calls me unless something was wrong.  Sure enough, she was asking for my opinion for her sister who was just diagnosed with colorectal cancer.  To make it worse, my wife's aunt had just lost her husband of over three decades to heart failure.  Her uncle, who was 62, had very much been a father figure to her so it was a hard and difficult loss.  And the cherry on top is that my brother has lost over 40 pounds the last few months and is struggling with severe neuropathy in his feet brought on by the chemo.  He only half jokingly said that he could go as a skeleton for Halloween.  Another week like this and I'm going to start buying wine by the cask.