Picture by Moondragon (artist)

We are no longer the people we once were when we survive such a great loss, especially that of a child. The complexity of multiple layers of grief are so hard to define. Only those that have experienced it will actually ever be the ones that will understand. I am no longer who I was. I’ve become a master of replicating the person that once existed in order to fit back into life.

Quoted from Still Standing

This crappy club called child loss is a club I never wanted to join, and one I can never leave, yet is filled with some of the best people I’ve ever known.

And yet we all wish we could jump ship– that we could have met another way– any other way but this.

Alas, these shining souls are the most beautiful, compassionate, grounded, loving, movers, shakers and healers I have ever had the honor of knowing.

They are life-changers, game-changers, relentless survivors, and thrivers — warrior moms and dads who redefine the word brave.

Every day loss parents move mountains in honor of their children gone too soon. They start movements, change laws, spearhead crusades of tireless activism.

One day I made a friend of my sons who gave me hope for loss. To find purpose and build muscle around the pain to help others. 6 months later he is gone through yet another tragedy. Life keeps reminding me that everything can change in a heartbeat.

If we are fortunate, we are given a warning.
If not, there is only the sudden horror,
the wrench of being torn apart;
of being reminded
that nothing is permanent,
not even the ones we love,
the ones our lives revolve around.
Life is a fragile affair.
We are all dancing
on the edge of a precipice,
a dizzying cliff so high
we can’t see the bottom.
One by one,
we lose those we love most
into the dark ravine.
So we must cherish them
without reservation.
Now.
Today.
This minute.
We will lose them
or they will lose us
someday.
This is certain.
There is no time for bickering.
And their loss
will leave a great pit in our hearts;
a pit we struggle to avoid
during the day
and fall into at night.
Some,
unable to accept this loss,
unable to determine
the worth of life without them,
jump into that black pit
spiritually or physically,
hoping to find them there.
And some survive
the shock,
the denial,
the horror,
the bargaining,
the barren, empty aching,
the unanswered prayers,
the sleepless nights
when their breath is crushed
under the weight of silence
and all that it means.
Somehow, some survive all that and,
like a flower opening after a storm,
they slowly begin to remember
the one they lost
in a different way…
The laughter,
the irrepressible spirit,
the generous heart,
the way their smile made them feel,
the encouragement they gave
even as their own dreams were dying.
And in time, they fill the pit
with other memories
the only memories that really matter.
We will still cry.
We will always cry.
But with loving reflection
more than hopeless longing.
And that is how we survive.
That is how the story should end.
That is how they would want it to be.

Written by Mark Rickerby

Written by the Mind Journal

If you are an over-thinker, you probably take people’s opinions too seriously and try to understand exactly why they say whatever they say.

If you also have a sensitive heart, then all this overthinking probably drives you crazy, because you try to analyze everything without sounding insane to others.

Another harsh truth about sensitive over-thinkers is that they see the world in black and white. They can’t be in the middle and settle for gray. They don’t have ‘half-feelings,’ they either do or don’t, love or hate, feel completely happy or completely devastated.

Sometimes, you might be ‘too much’ for some people; too sentimental, too analyzing, too emotional, too nervous, too romantic.

And that will make you sad, but you’ve got to realize that not everyone is going to like us. Because if you don’t, then you’ll always feel like you don’t belong.

Another common thing insensitive over-thinkers is that they have an inner struggle to be present in life, but they usually don’t really feel connected to their environment or the people around them.

I reflect on so much on the last week before I lost you. I hear each day and wish I arrived on any one of them. Maybe you would still be here if I knew.

I thought time would help. Time just teaches us how to survive . The first 2 years are shock. The shock wears off and transitions into coping. You become skilled in living in your old shell disguised within each new day just so you can fit in to your old life. But the inside is different. Its filled with pain and sadness. Then there are those days that the cap pops off and all of the water contained to the bottom raises to the surface exploding out of every pore. You search for survivors swimming down the same stream hoping they can share in this new world that has been created locked in silence. It feels good to talk about it but even then you have to guard the words not to overwhelm them with added grief that belongs to you for fear you will chase them away. Being alone in your thoughts is your best friend I have come to learn.

Photo by Billy

The littlest things seemed so large to us when we are small. That takes a turn as we grow up. Still the littlest things become large but consume us in a way that we forget who we use to be. Always keep that little person inside of you. Never let life consume your spirit or happiness

I’m am so proud that my son was the kindest soul I have ever known. He made me finally understand life.