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.

My Bad Dream
It's been two years since you lost your battle to cancer daddy. It still doesn't feel real that you're gone. Gone for good. You may be here spiritually, but that's not the same. Life isn't the same without you.
By Devin Mitchell7 years ago in Families
How I've Dealt with My Mom Being Dead
So, here goes. My mom is dead. Obvious, if you read the title. She has been for 4 years. Again, same if you read. My mom was taken from me as an adult. I was 20 years old. While some people think, "Well, you're an adult it's not that bad," I think otherwise.
By Charis Marquez7 years ago in Families
Loss
Wondering who the women in this picture are? On the right: my mother On the left: her mother (my grandmother) I was maybe one or two years old when my mother saved my life.
By Yassira Khallouk7 years ago in Families
Dealing with Death
She was strong, stubborn, but most importantly she was my mother. What I remember most about her was her fun, helpful personality. She always tried to help people, and hand only good intentions. How she could light up a room, and become the life of the party. Although I got many of my traits from her, I never her ability to be a social butterfly. I was more closed in. She showed her willingness to forgive and accept in her final days.
By Kimmy bishcake7 years ago in Families
A Second Chance: A Story of What We All Wish We Could Do Pt.1
“BEEP. BEEP. BEEP” said the battery-powered blue flower she had gotten for her birthday several months earlier. One eye slowly opened and glared at the dumb flower; she tapped the snooze button. “Ugh what was that dream…” She thought to herself, an eight year old named Emma. It all came back. She sat up in bed, eyes wide, but tired. She knows EVERYTHING that’ll happen in her future. She has dreamed of a tragic timeline that she can barely comprehend. She has a migraine for the first time in her life. She gets up out of bed, still groggy. It’s Saturday morning. She goes to the bathroom, pees, then brushes her teeth. A minute in, she looks into the mirror into her blue-green eyes and screams. Which is more like a high-pitch gargle. She coughs and spits profusely. She had realized that something terrible was going to happen to her mom in five years. Her mom, Sarah, was going to die of stage 4 cancer. “What is cancer?? Is it like a gun or something?” She thought to her self. She stared at her reflection, her young mind trying to comprehend what she had just foreseen.
By Desiree Stumo7 years ago in Families
Changes
The word family could have very deep but different meanings. Many have their own definitions of what family is. The thing about family is everyone is somehow closely knitted together. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and grandparents. Relationships and love is what most families build their foundation upon. I once strived for the perfect family, no, I believed I had the perfect family. All of my sons and daughters got along. We always went out for family picnics or gatherings. In this one moment everything was perfect but then that moment was gone.
By Em L7 years ago in Families
The Widow's Window
As I looked out the window of our tiny mountain apartment I could see the fog creeping in over the foothills. It looked just like how my soul felt, thick and lingering. Earlier that week I became connected with a part of myself I never knew existed until now. Im talking about the part of yourself that surfaces only after life's unimaginable occurs. Earlier that month the love of my life and the father to my two boys died and I was left to face the rest of our lives alone, or so it felt. Each moment that passed brought more intensity to the excruciating pain my heart was attempting to adapt to. How could this have happened? How could this now be our life? Moreover, how could I survive this life without him? I can tell you this for sure, I never knew how strong I was until that is all I could be. It has now been three years and my soul still yearns for him, my body still craves his touch but my heart has accepted that he is only with us now in spirit.
By Sada Arroz7 years ago in Families
Shattered
It was the day my life turned upside down. I remember the phone ringing early in the morning. It was a Wednesday and I was in the 9th grade. I was planning to get up earlier than usual to get ready for school. I was never a morning person. I would always snooze the alarm multiple times, trying to get an extra 10 or 15 minutes of shut eye. Yet somehow that morning I didn't press snooze on the alarm. I was still in bed, but my eyes were open. I heard a knock on the door.
By F Cummings7 years ago in Families
The Truth About Postpartum Depression: From a New Mom
The "Bad Mom" Stigma "Postpartum Depression," the F-bomb of the mom world until now, also known as P.P.D. Did you know, suicide is the second leading cause of death in Postpartum women? "Suicide," yet another taboo word when talking about depression after birth. Suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self harm are a side effect of depression, and it does not make you a bad mother to admit that you suffer from them. "Bad mom" stigma can be a deterrent for getting help to avoid judgement from uninformed family and peers. I'm here to tell you from experience that seeking help from a medical professional makes you no less a mother than any other mother. Finding treatment allows you to soak up that precious time with the baby without the worry of depression or anxiety.
By Lauren Audelo7 years ago in Families
Abandoned Homes
I can’t be the only person who looks at an abandoned house and wonders what the story behind it is. Did this house once belong to a happy family? Could some tragedy be the cause of the home’s emptiness? The world of possibilities is endless. There has to be more to the home than peeling paint and overgrown lawns. At one time, someone moved into that home with dreams and ambitions. They dreamed of the life they would live in that home. A home in which they would create memories. As they unlocked the doors for the first time, they unlocked all the possibilities. The person who lived there could have been anyone. They could have chosen to live in any house and they chose this one. Why did they leave? Was it their choice or were they forced?
By Veronica O7 years ago in Families
To the Drunk Driver and His Wife Who Killed My Sister
My name's Anna Holt. I don’t want to come out harsh, but you killed my sister. The exact person I need today. Idk if you & your husband set off that day and intended to kill someone and it so happened or your minds just aren’t right and you have a cold heart. I look at pictures of her today and I see how calm and perfect and amazing she looked. Y’all took something away from me that I will never get back and I absolutely can’t stand you or your husband for that. This whole thing disgusts me. Life after her is a blur knowing I never met a sibling who could’ve changed me life for the better in many of different ways. How could a kid and a family friend walk across the road after my mom's car broke down end up killed with no one answerable for it besides you, too bad you acted like it wasn’t your fault. This could’ve been avoided. Every time we drive by the spot she got killed at, it gets a little hard to breathe. Before she passed away, the household then was happy and truly amazing. Then y’all threw a bomb right into my family’s and friends of family’s life. When I look at my dad, you can see the sadness in his eyes. When you look at my mom you can see how broken she is. When you look at my brother that knew her personally you can see that he lost not only a sister but a best friend. And when you look into mine and my other brother's eyes, you see part of us, that’s missing, that could’ve been there, and everything would’ve been fine. I break a little more whenever I hear her name. Losing a child is an unimaginable loss. I will never be able to forgive y’all for what you did that night on June 28th, 2003. I don’t hate you, but I hope you have conscience so you think about the impact of what you did. I hope you will one day feel the pain I have been feeling ever since I was able to understand that she’s gone. You stole events like Christmas, Halloween, her birthday, and much more away from us. Even small things like watching a movie as a family or going out to eat. 15 years have passed and the pain still hasn’t passed for anyone and I don’t think it ever will, we just have learned to live with it. I ask myself why every night. Why couldn’t have she lived? Why couldn’t she just have had a few injuries? I believe that everything happens for a reason, but this? There is not an explanation. I hope one day you’ll realize how bad we are hurting. You’ll probably look at this and roll your eyes, but I hope I just hope it hurts deep down. I pray for y’all every night. I still got out the violin she had and look at the strings and stroke them even tho half of them are broke off, I still look at the scrapbook filled of her pictures, I still have the poem she wrote hanging up on my mirror, and I still have the box she had that played music. On a holiday like mother’s or Father’s Day or my siblings and my birthdays that box plays music out of no where, and I truly believe it’s her. Thank you, thank you for making me experience true hurt and brokenness.
By Anna Holt7 years ago in Families
My Mother
I can't ever forget that tragic day. I can't ever forget the sound of the rain, the voices of the people around me, the feeling of the tears running down my face. I can't ever forget he regret I had, the sight of her lifeless body. It's like a nightmare. I wanted to wake up. My whole world changed on that tragic day. The day everything changed. The day I lost my dear beloved mother. If you ask me to explain what happened, I can easily tell you everything.
By Sammy Armstrong7 years ago in Families