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.
A Life Well Written
My father sat up straight in what would soon become his death bed. “One last thing before I go,” he said with a grin. I winced a little more at every word. So this was it then. The Last Thing. The Going. I, at eighteen years of age, couldn’t comprehend how he maintained that soft smile of confidence while I dematerialized into a hazy puddle of grief.
By Jacob Ruetz5 years ago in Families
No Ordinary Day
I always thought my brother Eric’s interests were an odd pair: stargazing and architecture. But he always said, “astronomy is the architecture of the universe.” And architecture was the closest that mankind would ever come to building anything as captivating as the night sky. “The beauty of manmade structures pales in comparison to what we can find in the sky,” he would say, “but the products of human intelligence and human creativity are nonetheless inspiring in their own right.” He had never said anything so pretentious as a teenager; I think he took a course in philosophy or creative writing in college because that was around the time he started talking like that. He attended the University of Michigan College of Architecture. There were a number of architecture programs he had been considering, but he won a $20,000 scholarship for Michigan. Besides, he explained, “Michigan has a great astronomy program too, so maybe I can take some of their classes as electives.”
By Benjamin Royal5 years ago in Families
Special Item
It cannot be real. It cannot be real that she is gone. Sitting in the lawyer’s office today was not real. There is no way that a such a radiant woman who has been a part of my whole life is just gone. How do I go about the rest of my life without being able to talk to her? Granny has always been there when I have needed advice, tough love, or a laugh. All I have left of her is the house she lived in and this little black notebook that she used to carry around. Since the lawyer handed this warn book to me, I have felt the weight of impending reality. People talk about grief as this thing that takes over your life. Those who have dealt with grief know that it is a hidden code word. The code word that encompasses how much it hurts to miss someone.
By Bridgette Colton5 years ago in Families
My Dad Always Said...
Grief. That’s all I’m feeling at this point in time. I’m trying to remember all the little details about my father. What his favorite songs were? How much he loved mom and us. Was he mad at me? For not being there all those years? Right after college, I interned for one of the biggest radio stations in my city. Which ultimately led me to traveling the world with my career. I’ve seen Europe, Africa, New Zealand, hell I’ve seen every single state in the United States. If only passports stamped for that sort of thing. My dad would always call me and ask how I was doing. He’d never ask me for money directly, but I always managed to wire him some funds. I remember he’d get so mad at me for sending him large amounts. I refused to have it returned to me at all cost. It’s the least I could do as a son. After everything I put my parents through. My addiction to heroin and alcohol caused most of my parents problems. I almost drove them to divorce at one point. But you can see why I’m so adamant about giving my parents money back. Somewhere along the lines I owed them. I owed them a lot. I owed my entire life to them.
By Bryant Zambrano5 years ago in Families
Mamita's Notebook
There I was, mid-Tuesday afternoon, staring. Not at a phone or something even remotely interesting to anyone else. I was staring at a mole – right there, in the middle of my right arm. Between ripples and some "un-girly" hair was the one thing that represented a part of me I never understood and the thing that changed everything.
By Flavia Santibanez5 years ago in Families
Struck in Error
My father’s drafting tools had been assembled into a neat pile on top of the antique Victorian Davenport desk; the same desk he had used to design airplanes, hydroplanes, and hovercrafts; now a beautifully carved monument to his classified work.
By Solomon Shacter5 years ago in Families
A Prayer for Sorrow
Her husband died in his sleep on the hottest day of the summer. He spent the day before out on the job, some building on the good side of town, and returned home with a large jar of red peppers. Lucia didn’t like red peppers, neither did their grown sons. Yet Gio bought them anyway for when his brothers would come in from Philly that Saturday. He snuck a few from a jar that night as Lucia cleaned the dishes from dinner. He sat at the yellow kitchen table and stared out the window out into the yard where dandelions were taking over. The record player was playing Vieni Sul Mar from a scratchy 45 rpm record, but neither of them paid it any mind. Lucia’s back pulsed in pain as she bent over the scalding sink, scrubbing in silence.
By M.J. Weisen5 years ago in Families
My Nona's Secret
It seemed fitting that it rained all day today, the day of my Nona’s funeral. It has rained every day since she died, just four days ago. First, I lost my parents in a car crash when I was seven and now, at twenty four, I lost the only other living family I had left. I don’t think I would be able to deal with it all without my best friend, Lucy, by my side.
By Allison Ann Johnson5 years ago in Families
