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.
Moonflowers
It had been two months since you left when the package arrived. The knock had surprised me. I was sitting on the couch in your only knitted sweater- the one we bought on our second trip to chicago- rewatching “Sex and the City” for the third consecutive time, sipping a cup of lukewarm Earl Grey when crack, crack, crack. The sound of someone breaking their knuckles on our thin apartment door made my heart flutter and then pound.
By Kaitlynne Elizabeth5 years ago in Families
Dusk
Is it always this hot in September? I feel like I can hardly breathe. It’s that dry, choking heat that makes a person wonder if this is one of God’s survival of the fittest tests. If so, I’d like my tombstone to read – She tried. I am trying to survive in this desert my family now calls home. I am trying to be a better person by shoving down the repulsion I have for this stunning adobe mansion with it’s gorgeous deep blue kidney-shaped pool, the fancy fans that are blowing mist over my face as I lounge on the patio, and the laughing children that are chasing each other carelessly between said pool and my feet. I am trying to care about the pointless stories my brother keeps going on about while he grills hamburgers on his lavish new grill. I am trying to put a smile on my face even though it feels like I have no right. I am trying. I take a sip of my watered-down diet coke and stare at the moon. I’ve always loved when I can see the moon at dusk.
By Hannah Whisman5 years ago in Families
When the Marigolds Fade
An empty picture frame, Hung on the wall to speak your name. Rachel had a miscarriage a few years ago. At the time, that had been the worst thing she had ever lived through. A few weeks after losing the pregnancy, she had written a poem for her tiny, missing baby as a way to find some closure. These two lines were the only thing she remembered. She knew she had kept a copy somewhere. Unfortunately, time passed, and she tended to forget things such as where she had hidden an intimate poem. They moved a few years later and the poem remained undiscovered. Rachel assumed it was probably gone forever, which made her just the smallest bit sad.
By Jerene Buckles5 years ago in Families
Wanting to quit
As I sit here, and I fight these tears you’re all I can think about. I think about all our memories, all the times we fought, all those times I never listened to what you had to say. I always thought you were wrong, and I was always right, nothing you ever said to me ever stuck until too late. Saying goodbye hurt, it hurt a lot more than I expected it to, I didn’t know how to feel or what to think. I felt lost at first, sad, angry, and every other emotion there is to feel besides happiness, and excitement, I felt them all. It sucked, it hurt, and you best believe I hated my life and was ready to give up. I was ready to put that knife to my wrist and slit it without a second thought, but something stopped me. Something yelled to me and said don’t do it because you have so much to live for, but I truly didn’t care because I didn’t think I had anyone to live for anymore.
By Audrey DeLong5 years ago in Families
Widowhood can be lonely
I joined several widow support groups on social media and have begun to notice a growing trend. I began seeing more posts about advice for moving on than I did about dealing with current feelings of grief. When I questioned the shift in focus in one group, I received a number of hateful responses so I deleted myself. I said I thought the group was for sharing feelings of grief and not about dating. A widower said he thought dating issues should be in a different group so he got it. Everyone else who responded said I was too extreme and they all wanted to know there was hope and they could be happy again.
By Cheryl E Preston5 years ago in Families
Lost in thought
Lost in thought. The Kookaburras Arriving home wrestling with the usual tangle of door keys, I slide miss 3 down to the floor on my left hip, mail spilling out of my grip and ensuring it scatters across the floor of the entryway. Even with this annoyance I felt such relief, relief that I hadn't felt in what seemed like an age. This relief highlighted the dull ache between my shoulder blades, my body finally giving away it's addiction to a steady flow of adrenaline, man I needed a massage, the ache in my back was now even more pronounced, brought on by a year of unrelenting stress.
By Adrian Taylor5 years ago in Families
Just Marilee no-one special!
I was born in Henley Beach Maternity Hospital, South Australia in 1955. I was told that it was the worst storm Adelaide had experienced and the Hospital Roof almost ripped off. My mother thought I had been born with 2 heads and that they sedated her because she was hysterical.
By Marilee Burtt5 years ago in Families
Sweet Dreams
I rambled up a story about yet another dream I had; the one with the pretty flowers. Aunt Nat, like always, messily munched on her almost burnt buttered toast while scrolling through her phone with the merest attempt at listening. I shot myself out of my seat and shouted like a crazed madman.
By Kalina Xiong5 years ago in Families
The Visit
I sit in this uncomfortable bus seat trying to find a position that will hold me over until I reach my destination. I sigh and look down at my watch and don’t see the time, my attention is drawn to the brown paper-covered gift box in my lap. I mindlessly start to fumble with the twine around it and try not to get sucked back into memories that will result in me jumping on the first bus back home when I reach the final stop. It’s been so long since you have seen me, I wonder if you will recognize me at first, I wonder if you will be able to look me in the eye at all. You stopped being able to after she died, I didn’t lose one parent the day she passed, I lost two.
By Megan McCullough5 years ago in Families
