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.
After You
The distant sound of children laughing meandered on the fall breeze. There was a slight chill in the air, but that did not deter many from visiting the park. Finding a perverse comfort in the crunch of leaves beneath her feet, Lucille walked over to their park bench and slumped down on it.
By Kukua Paintsil5 years ago in Families
To Leo, with Love
It was the first time Anae had been out with anyone else in years. Hell, it was the first time she’d stepped her dainty little toes outside of the house in nearly nine months. No one really prepares you for the loneliness of isolation during a global health crisis and they certainly don’t tell you how excited and absolutely terrified you’ll be when the gates finally open again.
By Antonia Aipperspach5 years ago in Families
To Honor You As If You Were Here
There are many ways to honor your loved ones that have passed away when you are getting married that cannot be there with you. If you have a favorite uncle, aunt, or a cousin that you were close to, or one of your parents are grandparents has passed on, or sadly enough your child, there are ways for you to honor them when walking down the aisle. Here are a few of my top picks for my most favorite things and the things that I think are most beautiful. The things that I would choose for my wedding.
By Amanda J Mollett5 years ago in Families
The Shirt I'll Never Wear
If you're a Netflix junky like me, you'll casually go to the section that previews new movies and shows to add them to your "Watch Later" list. One show that I was excited to watch was Worn Stories; it's a limited series that focuses on our emotional attachment to specific items of clothes. From sweaters, hats, ties, and even jockstraps, people talk about why that item means and the emotional impact. It amazed me how much we idolize the things that we have. We've all become hoarders in our own right, which is why most American's want bigger and better to fit everything inside. Some of the items we possess bring nostalgia.
By teisha leshea5 years ago in Families
The recurring death. Top Story - April 2021.
The death of any loved one is difficult and healing can be hindered by simply taking care of business. I vaguely experienced this with my mother and my grandmother but it's almost unbearable now that my husband has died. We spent 45 years together which is 5 years shy of being half a century. He has only been gone about 3 weeks but it feels like an eternity. Each time I believe I am having a good day something happens that causes me to feel as if he has just died all over again. It feels like smooth sailing and then waves crashing down over and over again taking my breath away before they subside.
By Cheryl E Preston5 years ago in Families
Dinner for Two
He saw her for the first time from the patio. She wore one of those flowery dresses that signal spring and absolutely simmer in the brutality of Florida’s July high season. She was just standing, staring out across the green-blue horizon, gazing upon the eternities and follies of life that tiptoe that dark mirage known as the future. He gripped the white metal rail of the balcony, listening to the heady gusts whistling between the rusted welds and jittering steel.
By Aaron Steele5 years ago in Families
My Marilyn
Dearest Marilyn, May this letter find you in a better place than last we saw each other. I miss you terribly, yet I know it was inevitable that we part. For these past two years, I thought I would be the first to go. I prepared for it. The suddenness of your leaving left me in the deepest despair I have ever felt. Only now, a few weeks since, I have just barely emerged from that black pit of anguish. With this letter I am trying to deal with a future without you, to grasp what it means not to be able to see you, hold you, talk to you, love you.
By Edward Farber5 years ago in Families
The Mom I'm About to Lose
I was 31 years old with a 3 month old baby in my arms sitting on a coffee table in my parents living room when I found out my mom had brain cancer. We didn't know at the time that it was terminal but somehow, we knew. Weeks later when we would learn that the life we had before was over and this new life would be full of pain and sorrow, my mind began searching for every memory of her I could hold onto.
By Trish Felecos5 years ago in Families
An Ode to my First Supporter
I’ve been working on my PhD in Biomedical Sciences for the past 3 and a half years. It’s been some of the most rewarding and tumultuous years of my life. I have been working in the lab of my dreams on neuromuscular degenerative diseases. The scientists and friends I’ve made along the way have continued to motivate me and support me through all of life’s hardballs, but they weren’t my first support group. My family and community from northern Maine were the first to develop my wonder and work ethic which culminated into my dream of becoming a scientist. This is where the tumultuous part comes in. In the last year, I lost 3 grandparents. In February of 2020, I lost my older brother to a freak flu that led to sepsis and brain damage. I have also lost several loved ones from my community who nurtured me and allowed me to grow.
By Sarah Holbrook5 years ago in Families
