grief
Losing a family member is one of the most traumatic life events; Families must support one another to endure the five stages of grief and get through it together.
My memories of my parents
My Father was born in Holwerd, Friesland, the Netherlands on July 30, 1929 to Pieter and Aaltje van der Woude who farmed outside of Holwerd. My Father was the third child of five children born to them, Egbert, Djoke, Paulus, little Lammert (who died as a baby) and Lammert.
By Lorne Vanderwoude4 years ago in Families
Hush Little Baby
A flash of bright blood appears. Just like any normal month. The most primal need; yet something continually beyond her reach. She’s screaming inside but nobody hears her moans. Seeing a pregnant, glowing woman each day – boasting that beautiful, swollen belly for the entire world to see. It’s like a kick in the teeth; or empty womb, rather. The nappy ads on TV. The strollers. The ‘Baby on Board’ car window signs. The children’s birthday party invitations. The assumptions people make; she’s selfish, or just doesn’t want kids. (Little do they know). She can’t escape. It feels like a cruel joke. It’s suffocating. Her bones ache. Her heart yearns. Her head throbs. Her hands tremble. Every birthday. Every Christmas. Time passes but nothing changes. She waits. She waits. And she waits… What will ever numb this devastating grief?
By Vicky Keenan4 years ago in Families
It Was Complicated
I never knew my father with anything but silver hair. He was fifty-seven when I was born. My father had an almost genius IQ, but he also had many problems that kept him from succeeding. He was a paranoid schizophrenic at a time when there was no medication for the mental disorder. My father was also bipolar, and being bipolar myself, I can tell you it is a complex disorder.
By Denise Willis4 years ago in Families
Loss is loss.
It was a relatively warm and sunny day, the kind of weather you hope for when planning a trip to the beach. Well on this particular day, the sun and clouds no longer mattered because the news I just received shattered me. The weather no longer mattered, in that moment the job I had no longer mattered, the people around me, that I had a hole in my shoe, that I was so overly exhausted from working so hard that I could barely see straight. As I stood there in shock and disbelief, a massive wave of all kinds of emotions washed over me, naturally I wanted to drop to my knees onto the ground and pound it with my fists in massive agony. But, the professional side of me knew I couldn't allow for myself to do that, cause who knows, I probably would've gotten fired. Absolutely nothing matters in the world when you learn of a loved one that has just passed.
By Magdalena🌹4 years ago in Families
The Meal I’ll Never Have Again
There's one meal I'll never repeat, but will always remember. It was a couple of days before Midsummer in 2012, and I was visiting my dad in Finland with my ex-boyfriend. We'd been living in Argentina for two and a half years then.
By Taru Anniina Liikanen4 years ago in Families
My Father's Funeral
My parents visited Texas to attend my older sister’s nursing program graduation. During that visit, my newly-minted nurse of a sister noticed how much my father’s health was failing, especially pertaining to his diabetes and heart disease. He’d never been healthy, really. He was obese and diabetic. He struggled with diet after diet. Finally, when I was in high school, he underwent bariatric surgery. I’m not entirely convinced that it didn’t, in the end, kill him.
By Elizabeth Hunter4 years ago in Families
