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.

Athletech
This bag has lived a long full life. Its forest green nylon webbing straps are still as sturdy as the day it was purchased. The black plastic body is discolored and slightly stiff from endless use for the last twenty years, but not a single hole can be found. The zippers all do their job, albeit very loudly, and the mesh of the front pocket is only minimally frayed in the front right corner. This bag has more than done the job it was purchased for. It had been my school bag somewhere around 6th grade. When I abandoned it the next year for something more middle school, my father adopted it, adding two bands of bright red duct tape to the handles for better visibility in airports. It had remained his travel bag until this last October when I took it back in. So here I sit, months after his passing, franticly searching the pockets of this bag for what? I don’t really know. Any extra scrap of the father I lost that may be hiding in a side pocket. Something I missed the last time I went through the same routine. The most unexpected things will knock the breath from your lungs. There are times when the pain is a sadness that sits in your soul, content to keep to its established living quarters. You can go about your business and you know it’s there, but it’s not crippling you. And then something will rip you wide open and nothing can be done but to feel the pain. This 20-year-old Athletech gym bag is that something today.
By Randi Jo5 years ago in Families
Loss of a child
[Thump Thump] “Soon as I hear it.” [thump thump] “Your heart beat for the very first time.” [thump thump] “I knew I would love you forever.”
By Justis Thomas5 years ago in Families
Loss of a Mother
I think that when a woman loses her mother, in many ways she loses a part of herself. Regardless of their relationship, good or bad, our mother is the most determining factor that we use to weigh our own feminine forces against. Our identity is so often tied directly to our mother’s identity. Unlike sons who are expected to be autonomous, daughters intrinsically seem to know that they will continue the cycle of identity that expects daughters to be like their mothers. Universally women look to their mothers for approval on how to be a woman.
By Kiki5 years ago in Families
A Young Life Taken
It has been years since the young life of Travis Williams was taken. This tragic death did not have to happen. The people around him that loved and supported him did not need to lose such a sweet young friend. His family did not have to lose a cousin, a grandson, a son, or a brother. However, the life that he chose made it impossible to live the life that others thought he could live. Still in high school when he was gunned down at a drug deal gone wrong.
By Amanda J Mollett5 years ago in Families
WILL I EVER SEE MY DAUGHTERS?
Experiences in flight are always galore and always very unique in nature. Stories of human tragedies need not be physical. It can also be psychological and hence the trauma in such cases stays much longer and troubles the heart endlessly.
By AMLAN ROYCHOWDHURY5 years ago in Families
Mummy and I
Mummy is crying in the kitchen. She’s sad because daddy is living in the sky with the angels now. There’s loads of people here, all wearing black. Mummy is talking to Auntie Jackie.
By Fiona Nneka5 years ago in Families
Old Men and their ways
The house was quiet. There was a time when that quiet was unbearable with the weight of what was missing, and the memories of the past added to my pain. But as with all things, I got used to it. Shuffling around the house doing my daily chores was calming in a way. At least it broke the quiet that lurked around every corner waiting for me to let my guard down. Take a shower, put on clothes, eat, wait for the nurse, exercise, eat, take a shower, go to sleep. That is my life, every day the same routine. I swear if you look hard enough you can see the path I take through the house every day in the carpet. There are some hallways I avoid, not because of any bumps or steps that could fell an old man like me, but because of the faces on the wall that stare at me, forever smiling, laughing about jokes long gone. I can’t see them and be reminded of what I have lost, especially today.
By Mauro J Maldonado5 years ago in Families
What the Worst Day Looks Like
A quiet house April 20, 2016, started differently. I woke up around 6:45 to a silent house. My husband, Patrick, either ran or rode his bicycle every morning before work. He left while I was still sleeping. I would occasionally wake up briefly, but sometimes I slept through it entirely. He usually left around 5:45 and returned by 6:30 or a little after. I thought it was odd, but I had a conference call at 7:00, and I needed to get ready for it.
By Danell Boyles TeNyenhuis Black5 years ago in Families
After
Getting things organized kept her mind and body busy over the days and nights following his death. Who needed to be called? What paperwork needed to be done?
By Paula Shablo5 years ago in Families
The complexities of widowhood
Widows of yesteryear wore what was referred to as Widow's weeds. They wore black veils over their faces and were in mourning for whatever was considered a respectable period of time. Dressing in black does not indicate that a woman truly loved or is missing her husband and not wearing black is no indication of the opposite. I wore a white suit with blue blouse to my husband's funeral because he was dressed in a white suit with a blue shirt. This would be the last time our physical bodies would ever dress alike in this world.
By Cheryl E Preston5 years ago in Families
Me and My Rivy
An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language - Martin Buber Nature teaches Beasts to know their friends -William Shakespeare
By Eris Greyrat5 years ago in Families
Leavings of Joy and Sorrow
Marlo had closed the house and gone on a soul-cleansing trip after the funeral. Her brother had protested–a little– but had eventually agreed that there was nothing inside that needed her immediate attention. The place had been cleaned before receiving after-service guests and again after everyone had left.
By Paula Shablo5 years ago in Families