Open to Hope Articles
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A Bike Ride With My Father: His Father’s Day Gift to Me
June 16, 2013
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like From the Song: Bicycle Race, by Queen “I Have A Thought” At 9:00 am today (6/15/13), I received a text message from my dear friend from Long Island, Patty Furino. In addition to being one of my closest friends, Patty is one of my most influential spiritual mentors and witnesses on the journey I have embraced following the death of my 18-year-old […]
Father’s Day Eve…
June 15, 2013
Ok, so obviously this isn’t a real holiday, but it is to me. This made up holiday, is the day before my toughest day of the year, Father’s Day. It is the one day of the year where I feel really different from everybody else, and only a few people in my life can truly understand what I am really going through. They say, through time that the loss gets easier which is true to a point. You never forget it though. A little part of you wants to celebrate what everybody else does, but […]
The Shadow of My Father
June 15, 2013
The following article was originally published by The Grief Toolbox (www.thegrieftoolbox.com) on November 21,2012. I received a strong nudge to repost this article about my father on this site on Father’s Day weekend. My dad was only a part of my life for five years, but he has taught me more in death than he ever did in life. His gift to me to me and my mother was letting go, so that we could live a fulfilled life without him. I believe that my father was aware of his limitations, and that his decision to leave was the ultimate act of […]
My Father’s Legacy: Respect, Hard Work, Love of Country
June 13, 2013
My father was an immigrant who came to the United States when he was 15 years old. As he did not speak a word of English, he joined the kindergarteners in learning the language. Each month, as his skills improved, he was bumped up a grade until he finally arrived at the appropriate level and was speaking fluent English. Until I was in 10th grade, I never realized that he spoke with a slight accent. I had interviewed him for a history project, An Immigrant’s Point of View, and, when I played the tape to the class, the first remark […]
Remembering Our Legacy this Mother’s and Father’s Days
June 12, 2013
She was an attractive woman with thick dark hair that started turning white in the middle of her life. She was the oldest of 3 children. Her mother was from Scotland and her father was from England. She loved to cook and tend to her flowers in the garden. She had many friends. One of the things I remember about her was how she loved listening to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. She would sit in her chair with her head back and her eyes closed. I still recall that ever so slight smile crossing her lips as she heard […]
When a Father Dies on Father’s Day
June 11, 2013
My father died on Father’s Day 2007. He had been in apparent good health until the night he was admitted to the hospital. That day, he went through his usual routines-swam a mile at the Y, did some errands, sat on the patio with my mother in the late afternoon. By 11 p.m. he was in the ER, in such critical condition that the staff didn’t think he would survive the night. At 6 a.m. the following morning, he was stable enough to transport to the ICU. Each of the next 10 days brought new challenges as his condition worsened […]
Father’s Day: Not a Day, but a Legacy
June 10, 2013
My children have passed over the dividing line. They have been alive more years now without their father than they were with him. My daughter Samantha was 12 years old when her father died and Rick was just 10. They were merely children when they had to say goodbye to him after a car accident and a final 2 week stay in the hospital as a quadriplegic. Their last visual was of a motionless, mute forty-four-year old man who could only signal his love to his children with a blink of his eyes. But previously, his total dedication as a […]
A Different (But Good) Father’s Day
June 9, 2013
Father’s Day is the day that I least look forward to on the calendar. I know what you’re saying, “Come on Eric, Father’s Day is 4 months away.” Absolutely right, but bear with me. As all of you know you have lost a loved one close to your heart, it could be a birthday, anniversary or any other special day that triggers the memories of that particular individual in both a good way (remembering the past), and bad way (no more memories to create for the future.) Father’s Day just happens to be my day. My […]
My mom, my whole life, going to die
June 8, 2013
I am sitting in the hospital with my mom right now. I was supposed to have my wedding today. And the main reason to have the wedding party was my mom because she aaaalways wanted to see me in a bride’s dress. I just wanted her to see this day. Just 4 days ago she rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. She has a month maybe. She has had diarrhea for the last two weeks which doesn’t stop and it can be a reason to lose her even sooner. My mind says it is […]
