If either one of my children left forever, or they died, I would have a gaping hole in my life that would never be filled.

If you are talking from ab I would not go as far as saying there would be a hole that the universe couldn't fill if they decided to leave. I would however say I would miss them a great deal if they left. There are a few like that but in the interest of not offending those whose names I may forget I will not mention names but those people hopefully know who they are and how much their friendship has meant to me. If we are talking real life here I already have a big gaping hole in my universe that I don't think any other woman but the love and light of my life will ever be able to fill try as they may. The day she died was the day life as I knew it til then stopped for me.

my son. he is everything good i've ever done. he has given my life purpose and meaning it never had before, and if he was gone, i would feel useless and dead inside.

My oldest friend - and we are fast approaching the age where it is a visible possibility. This is the friend I have know for the last forty three years and is all the more important to me because I do not have much of a facility in making long-term friends. We have known each other through almost all the changes in our lives and the world around us and I will miss him more than anyone I have, or will have, in my birth-family if he passes before I do. I cannot conceive of the pain of losing my wife or children - that is LITERALLY unthinkable to me in any sense except the hazy 'it could happen' kind of detatched way....

Maybe not a large hole, but a hole nonetheless.

I honestly don't think I could go on living if anything ever happened to my younger sister, Jess. I love and cherish and adore all of my sisters, but Jess - she's my girl. I have loved her since the moment I saw her. I was there when she came into the world and I have lived my life trying my best to love and protect her ever since. She's one of those kids that is radiantly beautiful, but doesn't know it. Her aloofness and shyness is neither awkward or clumsy, but charming and endearing. Her sweet nature and her need to protect the under-dog ... really, she possesses every single quality in a human being that I prize above all others. If anything ever happened to her, I truly doubt I could go on living. I never expected to meet anyone or know anyone outside of my family that could bring out that kind of fierce passion in me. The knowledge that who I am, as a person, would be a little less than what it should be if they left or if anything happened to them. It's a pretty terrifying thought, really. To be so fundamentally connected to a person that you would be changed if something happened to them. But is is also an amazing feeling. “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” - Albert Einstein.

My kids and my husband, just the thought of it is too painful to contemplate.

yeah there is and if you're talkin' to her anytime soon - please can you tell her that her mum loves her...

yes and it has already happened to me by the same guy three times.yet iam still inlove with him and he knows it well.

I am reluctant to answer this question because I have never really lost anyone close to me. My great grandmother died about 10 tears ago, and while that hurt, I didn't get a chance to know her, she was over 100 years old when she passed. I also lost a friend's mother + brother to the bridge collapse this summer, but again, death has never touched me very personally. I am reluctant because I am superstitious. If I talk about someone dying.....anyway, when my Grandfather passes away, It will be the saddest day of my life. OMG - I almost forgot! knock on wood.

This happened for me when my mother died: that was the first person I lost for whom this could be said. It was like being kicked in the stomach by a mule... no matter how much I thought I understood that life is impermanent, and that death gets us all, it was truly a shock -- how could she cease to exist? It was inconceivable. That changed my life in many ways, even though I was in my early 40's when it occurred. When a teenager gets their driver's license, sometimes I say "well, your REAL driver training is that first accident!"... that experience of being out of control, having the car spin around, the gut-wrenching smashing of metal and spraying of glass... stepping out of the car and seeing fluids spilling out onto the ground and other cars trying to snake their way around the site.... all of that is an education about auto safety which can't be obtained in the classroom. That's how these deaths are: a deep, in-our-bones education about one of the most fundamental truths in life -- THIS is it. You better love that person now, you better live each day with effort and energy and creativity and compassion, because none of this is going to last. That is the most important thing I learned from my mother.

Any family member, but especially, my mom,my dad, my husband, and even more so, either of my 2 children that I am so lucky and blessed to have.

My son..I honestly don't know how I could survive in a world that no longer included my son. :(

My mum I could not cope without her :(

yes well actually i have 2 my man matt and my best friend kelly

I think there's two people possibly whose absence would leave a gaping hole in my life. One I can't presume to be a permanent fixture in my life anyway, and the other is my mum. I suppose every relationship I have would leave an un-fillable void if it were to go, because each is unique. Every time I've lost somebody I never envisaged being able to live without, I sucked it up and moved on. In a sense I feel immune to it now, and have found a way to switch off from people before they get in far enough to leave such a painful gap should they go. Obviously there are a couple of exceptions to this, but on the whole I think I'd cope. I'd have to.

Well, I already feel like a huge slice of swiss cheese: This one is my aunt, who passed several years ago. She was my rock and confidant and the kindest, most caring person I have ever known. This one is my best friend and soul-mate, who has disappeared from society without a trace. This one is my sweet puppy who was stolen out of my back yard while I was at work 18 years ago. These two little ones are our oldest children, who we still talk to, but have moved out of our house. This one is my first love. This one is my nephew, who committed suicide last year. The holes don't get filled, but we go on. I guess it's why I'm careful about the people that I truly let in. I will always ask myself whether the relationship is worth the pain of possibly losing that person. I'm not saying that it's the healthiest policy, but for now it's who I am.

Yes and that hole is cavernous.