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In Widowhood, What I Believe

Posted on April 2, 2010 - by Michele Neff Hernandez

Before my husband Phil died, I could have easily created a long list of my personal beliefs. This list would have included ideas about both the tangible and the intangible; broad concepts and specific ideals; God and mortal beings. There would probably even have been a mention of death and eternity…but only in the abstract because my beliefs about death were untested until August 31, 2005. The day I lost my husband was the same day that theory became reality, and faith became more than just a concept to which I paid lip service. Grief is the ultimate test of […]

Great Joys Among Great Sorrows

Posted on April 1, 2010 - by Louise Lagerman

I have just been sitting here thinking about life. It is so strange. Everyone who has lost a child has been through such great sorrows, but we have also been through great joys in our lives. There was a time after Keren died that I never thought I would feel joy again. I really didn’t for a long time. I was dead inside, empty and numb,but then after a while, a little bit of light started peaking its head into my life. So faint at first I couldn’t see it, it was barely there. I was so numb inside. But still it […]

Poem: A Gift of Sorrow

Posted on March 31, 2010 - by Deborah Tornillo

I close my eyes It all goes away. Today, tomorrow The sorrow. I open my eyes Rushes back in. Curse at my Lord I’ve committed a sin. If I keep them closed I hide within. Will he forgive me? I’ve cursed him. Open my eyes Accept tomorrow. The gift he’s given The sorrow. Deborah Ann Tornillo Copyright© 2010 http://www.deborahtornillo.com http://www.authorsden.com/dtornillo

Finding Spring Again After the Death of a Child

Posted on March 31, 2010 - by Cathy Seehuetter

We are finally at an end of what has often been a brutal winter. While gazing at the mountains of snow piled high in my front yard and the foot-long icicles hanging from my roof, it was hard to imagine that spring would ever come. We have endured bitter cold winds that have chilled us to the bone and treacherous roads that we have cautiously traveled. The days have been long and dark. No matter how long I have been a native of the Upper Midwest, I know we all will be glad when it comes to an end. However, as I described […]

Celebrate the Time We Had With Loved One

Posted on March 30, 2010 - by Louise Lagerman

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. — Dr. Seuss I love this quote and I will try my best everyday to live this although some days it is challenging. Some days it takes great effort. Every day I wake up anew and tell myself today I am going to rejoice today; I am going to celebrate that I had 23 wonderful years with my daughter, and when I feel the sadness and the despondency of her loss start to overtake me, I try to remember none of us here is guaranteed any amount of time on this […]

Bond to Deceased Child Can Go On

Posted on March 29, 2010 - by Sheri Perl

From the moment you become a parent, there are two questions that become first and foremost in your mind: Where is my child? Is he/she okay? Even when you are dealing with an infant who seldom leaves your side, you still get those moments. I can remember watching my babies when they were in deep sleeps to make sure that they were still breathing. And if I ever left them with a babysitter or at nursery school, I would wonder where they were and if they were okay. I simply had to know. It’s a constant vigil the undermines everything else […]

The Bereaved Are on a Hero’s Journey

Posted on March 29, 2010 - by Mary Jane Hurley Brant

Some say we don’t have anymore heroes, but I say we do. Let’s take a look at what a hero is and decide if you are one. A hero travels the hero’s journey. That’s when regular people such as you or me are asked to leave our routine life because something serious has occurred, and we are asked to do something about it. We are “called to help.” We are called to save our king, our country, our friend, or ourself. And because the task is arduous, we really don’t want to accept it. Medieval stories call the journey a […]

An Epiphany in Old San Juan

Posted on March 28, 2010 - by Mitch Carmody

Puerto Rico is the best kept secret in the world and where Bienvenidos truly means “welcome” in every sense of the word. The Puerto Rican people are warm, friendly and passionate. They not only embrace you with their arms and generous kisses, but with their compassionate heart. The island is only 35 miles wide by 100 miles long yet is home to over 4 million people, a country approximately the size and population of Connecticut. Although predominantly middle class, there are some caches of illegal aliens and drug lords spurred by our recession which contributes to nearly 1000 murders per year, […]

Looking Through the Window: A View of ‘Home’

Posted on March 26, 2010 - by Claire Perkins

It is the summer of 2007. At eighty-five years old, my mother is in the hospital for the second time in as many weeks. She is weak and tired and more than a little frightened. At the age of eighty, her kidneys failed. She’s been a dialysis patient for five years now, and while it’s given her new life it has also been hard on her body and spirit. Heart problems, pneumonia and now a GI bleed have required these most recent hospitalizations. She lies in her hospital bed looking out the small window. The angle of the bed is […]

Death of ‘Neon Man’ Inspires Friend to Help Others

Posted on March 25, 2010 - by Slash Coleman

In 2004, I got a call that my best friend died. Mark Jamison was a neon artist from Roanoke, Virginia, who was electrocuted after he was blown into a power line while hanging a neon sign. He was only 35. A month after he died, his girlfriend discovered she was pregnant. Mark and I had been friends for nearly 18 years. We met in a jazz band in college. Toured around with the band for a few years afterward and then, for the next decade, I traveled around the world looking for answers and he stayed in Roanoke, opened up a neon shop and looked […]