Since grieving is as individual as a fingerprint, each person’s journey through it is unique. I will share some suggestions that helped me get through the devastating early years after the loss of my son in hopes they can make…
When my son passed away over three years ago, at the age of 29, like most parents it was excruciatingly painful to go through his belongings. So many items that brought back those wonderful memories. Nothing was thrown out. Some…
There simply wasn’t time to finish the sentence or to make sure he had everything he needed: watch, money, schedule, notes, clean underwear. I had planned on having a nice, leisurely moment or two, simply gazing into one another’s eyes, memorizing the…
I do not believe there is any experience in life as traumatic or life-altering as the loss of a child. The loss of a special needs child often brings a unique twist to this excruciating experience. Those who have not…
My son died ten years ago so I have a decade “under my belt” as a bereaved parent. In that decade, I think I’ve learned the Terms and Conditions of being a bereaved parent; those Terms and Conditions that must…
Do I get out of bed to face the morning pain?Why are my feet and my socks soaking? I stepped out of my bed into a huge puddle of hurt and anxiety. As if the room had flooded overnight and…
Jonathan died and I took notes. I dutifully recorded the tidal wave of emotion that had swept through our family in the summer of 2006. Every night I returned my precious journal to the same place so I could find…
The person checking you out at the grocery store, the neighbors you barely know when they pass you on the street, the person handing out the bulletins when you enter church – all say casually, “How are you?” or “How are you…
Kate Spade. Robin Williams. Chester Bennington. Chris Cornell. All famous individuals who died by suicide in recent memory. After each of these deaths, the public mourned their passing together while bemoaning our country’s need to better understand mental illness, improve…
As with most holidays, Grandparents’ Day can produce many different emotions for me as a bereaved grandmother. While I am so very thankful for the three grandchildren my husband and I have living on earth, leading up to Grandparents’ Day,…
