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.
The Death Of Loved One
Death is not the most significant loss in life. A tremendous loss is what dies inside us while we live. It is the loss of a loved one or the loss of something that teaches us about the worth of things. While I was seven years old, still a child that needed love and to is taken care of by my parent, especially my mom; she was having a hard time balancing her life between taking care of my grandmother and me. My mom was the most loved child and sibling among the family; she was the one who took care of everything and everyone. At that time, my grandmother was ill. Every day, she had to take me to school, go to work, visit my grandmother in the hospital, come back to pick me up from school and take me home, study with me, take care of everyone in the house, and finally, at night, she would go back to the hospital. I remember that it has been a long time since I had slept in her arms at night. One night as she was getting me ready for bed, she dressed up to go to my grandmother, came and kissed me, but I couldn't sleep. I started crying and told her, why don't you stay with me? I want you to be her? She looked into my eyes and started crying. She told me, look how much you love me and want me to stay with you; it is the same for my mother; she is sick, and I need to be beside her and take care of her. When I think about it, it makes me feel sad that I have made her cry. On a school afternoon, while I was waiting patiently for her to pick me up, I was left alone after everyone had left school. I called her, and she was not picking up. In my thoughts, I was saying that maybe my grandmother had become better, and she was busy taking her home until one of my relatives came to pick me up instead. When we arrived home, it was very crowded.
By Maulik Borsaniya5 years ago in Families
My Loss Story: It's Not "Goodbye," It's "I'll See You Later"
These days have been harder than any painful I’ve experienced in my 28 years of life. I wake up every day ready to approach life as if it were a brand new day, no matter how much these four walls that encompass the home I grew up in, the home I watched my dad’s life wither away in, stay the same.
By Alyssa "Lefty" P.5 years ago in Families
Grief 101: Resentment
My husband's death is the first time that I have dealt with resentment as I am grieving. I am not talking about resenting the fact that other couples are still celebrating anniversaries and milestones. I am addressing something that I was unaware of and I desire others to be aware of this emotion and not to be too hard on themselves. After my great grandmother died in 1975 we were given a Golde Retriever puppy and I grew to love him and see him as part of the family. After my husband died I purchased a cat from a local shelter and everything was different.
By Cheryl E Preston5 years ago in Families
The Ark
The rental car has that faux-new car smell and for a moment Ellen’s mind wanders as she thinks about how much she wished she had a new car. When was the last time she had had a new car? Had she ever? James is outside pumping gas. They are at the last gas station north of the Iowa border in Owatonna, Minnesota heading south.
By Anne Garrett5 years ago in Families
Not meant for that
He had heard it said that ships are safe in the harbor, but ships were not built for that. These words both encouraged and frightened him. Tom had long known he was built for greater things, but fear and an innate sense of responsibility kept him anchored at shore.
By Dorothy Prophet5 years ago in Families
Made of Steel, Crashproof, Fireproof, and Pretty Much Bulletproof
My father was by all accounts, made of steel. Crashproof, fireproof, pretty much bullet proof. Larger than life. Magic. Anyone who really knew him, knows he was also a big softy with a huge heart full of love for everyone, and that "I love you, you asshole" was a term of much endearment coming from him. He put a smile on every face he saw. If he wanted you to laugh, then dangit you were going to laugh, there was no way around it. There was nobody that didn't like him, at least nobody that I ever knew.
By Cassey Aguiar5 years ago in Families
Forever Free
This is really happening. Standing at the waters edge, the wind drying my tears as each silently fell. I still don’t want to accept it. I was there. Holding you in my arms. I still remember the soft caress of your final breath as it stole across my cheek. I still hear the silence of the monitors as your heart beat its last beat. And the absolute empty stillness of the room after your soul left this world and crossed over into the next. I was there dammit. But I still don’t want to believe it.
By Sarah Elizabeth 5 years ago in Families
Worship
“Mama, my shoes is killing me,” Marcus moaned. His big toe, protected only by a threadbare sock, rubbed viciously against an exposed seam at the tip of his shoe, and there was a pinching sensation at his instep. His mother, a large and stoic woman, did not stop. She didn’t even slow down. Having already raised three boys and one girl, she had little patience for complaints.
By Mack Devlin5 years ago in Families
Goodbye
3:30pm: I'm sitting in my chair reading a book when my son comes in to sit with me. Sitting on the bed he asks what I'm doing I tell him I'm reading a book. We laughed together. We sit and chat for several moments. He's laughing and smiling, something I don't see him do very often. He stands up and comes to me and tells me how much he loves me and then I'm and that I'm a great mom. I laugh and say where did that come from. I love hearing it but it's not something that your 49-year-old child often come to you and says. He laughs and says he's just in a really great mood today. He hugs me and gives me a kiss. The goes outside where he has been tinkering with his Jeep.
By Carol Faith5 years ago in Families
