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.

To you, Nutty Nettie
To you Nut Nut, The day I met you was nothing I imagined. You and dad were sitting out back with the white fold out table, smoking and listening to the radio. Your son introduced me to you and as coolly as you could, you quickly put your cigarette out and got up to give me a hug. "Oh you're so gorgeous!" You said to me. You've always been the life of the party. A woman who loves out loud and as silly as possible. To be honest, you've always been a little nutty.
By Nicole K5 years ago in Families
Let It Go
Dear Jean, I was riding in the car with your son, my husband and happened to look behind the seat and see two of the bags that I had given him on two separate mornings. You know I heat up breakfast for him and give him a bag with a muffin or fruit, and or some sort of snack. You told me to make sure my husband doesn’t go hungry; I also make sure he has something either during the day or on his way home. What are these two bags? I give him a face and ask, “what is this?” He just looks at me.
By Deirdre Simmons5 years ago in Families
Learning to Live on
A son should know his father. This is a statement I have heard many times in my life. I’ve heard it and read it in fiction and it has been said to me as intended advice. Of course, any child should know their father. That first sentence doesn’t ignore this, instead it relates it to the person hearing the message. I’ve also heard it said that a daughter should know her father. I do think a better way to express it is to use the word child. Regardless, if it is possible and safe and healthy for a child to do so, they should know their father (and mother, of course). My perspective is as an only child, but I know that siblings can have very different images of their father. I cannot address that. I know it is true, but I have no direct experience.
By Tom Stasio5 years ago in Families
To My Mother, Who Gave Me a Sense of Humor.
Hey, Mommy. I’ve started then deleted my opening sentence about seven times, and somewhere in my head I can hear your soft, sweet voice speaking to me from the beyond:
By Jessica Conaway5 years ago in Families
My Sister Killed me
My sister and I never got on, from a very early age she had issue with me, as a child I understood that it was probably the five years difference between us and that this was how older children treated one another. I think its safe to say I was abused by my sister in a variety of ways probably best not discussed in this forum. There were systematic weird attacks sometimes just for the sake of it, sometimes to cause me extreme hurt both mentally and physically. From framing me for things I never did, to just attacking me to make me cry, my young years were a continual turmoil of abuse at the hands of the very person who I later understood should really have been protecting me.
By Spencer Hawken5 years ago in Families
Return to Peace
I'm thinking maybe this article could heal a little hurt. Many times in our lives we inevitably tend to get hit with something we call grief. Time and time again, as I process it myself and see others around me dealing with the same circumstance, it occurs to me that the process of handling our grief takes many different forms. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the typically accepted five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Some suggest there are seven, and others even say there are twelve. The truth is, there is no right or wrong way to process grief; it is a fully personal experience, and only you are able to determine what is best for you. However, that doesn't mean that another person's perspective cannot be helpful. So, here I sit in an attempt to explain how it affects me on a personal level, and how the death of a loved one ultimately transmutes into a form of comfort on a deep level.. eventually.
By Luke Crawley5 years ago in Families
When Hearts Begin to Bleed
Recently I've begun to think about pain. Not just any pain, but pain relating to the heart. There are so many ways to hurt the heart: break up with your lover, hurl insults at someone, fail to achieve your dreams. The list feels endless because it practically is. But one underlying theme across all of this is loss.
By Jonathan Planman5 years ago in Families
Three Sisters
This is a story about three sisters. But, first, I wanna talk about me. My name is Sam. I am a forgettable family law attorney in a small town where everybody knows your name and every chapter of your book. It is a thing of wonder.
By Conrad Ilesia5 years ago in Families
There is a Red Fox
He is watching the trail that snakes upward into the hill that lives behind the red school. It’s a thing of odd proportions - jagged and unkept in every aspect. He remembers something she said when they walked this: “What if we kept walking?”
By Equals5 years ago in Families
Paintbrush
With the tip of his paintbrush, he soaked up one of my tears. It had been our yearly tradition, something we did on our anniversary. Every year, for the past eleven years we've been married, my husband paints me, naked, in sweet, languid repose, upon our bed.
By Shawn Ingram5 years ago in Families
The Heart of Christmas, Unborn
The white lights on the Christmas tree glow dimly in the otherwise dark living room. The red and gold bulbs reflect the light into diamond-shaped beams, piercing through the gold garlin wrapped loosely on the fir's branches. I sit quietly, listening as the heater turns on, gushing warm air through the vents in the cooled space. I snuggle into my blanket and sigh, just listening. Sometimes, the quiet can be equally as frightening as inviting.
By SaMya Overall 5 years ago in Families
The Confession
“I’m not sure you are in the right office, Mr. Gallagher,” Alimah said, closing the door. “In fact, I am not really sure what brings you here today.”
By Thomas Mulligan5 years ago in Families