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.
The tattoo I never wanted
I am a lover of tattoos. I have always admired them. I dont believe I have been in a relationship with a man who didnt have tattoos. As my kids began to get older they always talked about their first tattoo, I was firm and said not until you are 18.
Tina PihotaPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesDeath is a friend of mine
“I had done this a thousand times, well quite a bit more than a thousand but who’s counting, and this time would be no different. It’s just something that has to be done and there is dignity to it. That day I went to comfort an old friend, to ease his pain and grant him that reunion he had been aching for. That has always been my favorite part, the end. It’s a way to wrap it all up. That’s what everyone is looking for, the happy ending. All of the best stories have a happy ending, unfortunately the happiness is reserved for the protagonist. In fact most support characters dread the big end, but every one knows when its time to run those credits.
Bijou BinxPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesShe is signed upon my skin, but lives within my mind and heart...
This is my first tattoo, inked on my 23-year-old skin at my local tattoo parlour in Warrnambool, Victoria, of Australia. I never cared much for tattoos growing up in my teenage years and I never planned tattoos for when I would turn eighteen. I always admired a good tattoo and the story behind it. The story coming from the person with the tattoo is what interests me the most. I definitely see that tattoos can be the initial source of expression for that story, an artistic symbol for the story that is hard to express otherwise.
Hayden LairdPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesArrowhead
Allow me to tell you about my grandfather. When I was a child, I spent an untold number of hours with my grandfather. He was tall and handsome, and absolutely full of life. He was also a collector, stopping every chance he could to pick up some small trinket or interesting object to add to his collection. He was particularly fond of Native American arrowheads. He loved finding them and showing them off. We would often roam the river bank behind his neighborhood looking for those little stone triangles, and we found a ton. Going to grandpa's house meant I was coming home with a bounty of colorful rocks and arrowheads, and the prospect always excited me. It wasn't until much later that I found out that he would buy replica arrowheads and pre-shined rocks and scatter them across the riverbank the day before I came to visit. He just wanted to see me smile. As I got older, however, my excitement dwindled. I suffered from the same idea that all teenagers suffer from: the idea of immortality. I let my relationship with my grandfather slip away until I had stopped talking to him entirely. Even though he was such a large part of my childhood, he rarely crossed my adult mind. The idea that, one day, I would never be able to speak to my grandfather again never crossed my mind. Then, one day, while on deployment, I received an email saying that he was on his deathbed, dying from leukemia. He passed shortly after. I never got to say goodbye, and I had to miss his funeral. The news took a heavy toll on me. I regretted every time I didn't call, and every time I didn't visit. I desperately prayed for the opportunity to go back and do it over again. Begged God to let me wander the river bank with him one more time. I would never hear his cheesy jokes, hear his goofy laugh, or see his wide smile ever again. I hated myself for abandoning him like I did. Shortly after my deployment, I visited my mother, who was still struggling with his death. My grandfather was not a wealthy man, and he had few possessions, but to my surprise, i was presented with a box that he left me. Inside was a handwritten letter from him that explained how much he loved me, and that he was sorry we didn't get to spend more time together. It was filled with his cheesy humor, and his trademarked life advice. The box also contained his collection of rare coins and arrowheads. Even after all that time, even after dodging all of his calls and avoiding him for years, all he wanted was to see me smile. The week I returned home, I got this tattoo. I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back and fix the mistakes I made, but I knew I had the power to prevent it from happening again. This tattoo functions as a memorial for my grandfather, and also constantly reminds me that life is sacred, and temporary. It reminds me that anyone can return to the earth at any time, and that it is best to make the most of the time I have with the people I love. I'm never going to let myself forget that again.
Josh HungerfordPublished 4 years ago in Familiesmoon and back.
It has been 1006 days without you. 1006 days without your laughter, without your advice, without your love here physically in this house. The last 682 days have been the hardest 1006 days of my life. No one ever teaches you about the hard lessons of life, like losing your mother. One day you are asking her how to get your contacts and about pink eye and the next she's gone. I think the one thing that these last 1006 days have taught me is how to be strong, how to love fiercely without asking questions and how to live every day like it might be my last. I had 24 magnificent years with my mom, and a lifetime of memories. But there's a few things I wish I had known before. Everyone is struggling but it’s how we overcome it that matters
That One BaristaPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesLoss as the Relief of Anguish
It's a strange time to experience normal-ness through the lens of life's current abnormality, which is the reason as to why losing the second grandfather of my living memory was no exception.
S R GurneyPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesImaginary Friend
In 2015, my daughter, Alexis, was three years old and her father and I were trying to conceive a second child. I would later find out that I had Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and that was the reason why I was having difficult conceiving.
Kelly O’DonnellPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesI'm Sorry I'm Too Short To Help You
A daughter's life was turned upside down the moment she heard her mother tell her that she only had a few months to live. It's like a gut punch and you forget how to breathe again.
Lizzie MartinezPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesCovid Has Changed My Life
I never saw it coming. My life has changed forever. This is a story about a beautiful and very handsome little boy my son Messiah C. Howard also known as Super Messiah. Four years ago we learned that my little man had a generational disease from his mother's side of the family. When Messiah was born we saw nothing of the disease even though his half brother died from it in the year 2005. When Messiah was being diagnose with this disease called Ipex we were told the only thing that could help save him was for him to have a bone marrow transplant this procedure will give him a longer life with out it he could die in his teenage years. So the search began for donors. In the meantime Messiah was put on a food source where he would have to wear a back sack everyday this is where his food supply would be to give him his nutrients day to day. The illness works on your body where you can"t gain weight. This little boy smiled all day everyday. You would have never known that he was ill he was a great little boy and very well liked by many. He was in the first grade at Victory Christian Academy which is located in Metairie a suburb of New Orleans Louisiana. He was a Honor Roll student since he started school he was also a great artist to be only 7 yeras old his art work was submitted into a school art contest but he was hospitilized and didn't make it. His sister was his best friend. Messiah loved his family and friends. We always made time to go to the park to throw the football and play frisbee He taught him self everything about football. He was baptisted right before he was to go into the hospital for the transplant. Months after waiting and hoping for a donor it was time to go back to the drawing board, his doctor wanted to test his sister. It came back she was a 50 percent match finally some great news. Reign was tested once before and found she is carrier of the disease just like her mother Toka Howard. So on March 15 Messiah was admitted in Children's Hospital. Messiah had all kinds of test.. He had to go through Chemo for 4 or 5 days to remove his Immune System to reiceive his new bone marrow from his sister. on the 24 of March he reiceived his transplant we were all there.. It was succesful..from March 24 to April 12 Easter we had so much fun while he was there his Mother stayed with him while I was home with his sister. she was doing online school. We visted Messiah and Toka everyday to bring food and fresh clothing etc. of course we were waiting for his points to go up also with his new Immune System. Messiah was a strong little boy he went through a lot and he never complained about anything .Then right before my birthday April 16 things changed they said he had a fever so he was to go through a series of test. It was determined that he had covid 19. How did he get this covig 19 ? He's been in the hospital. So we were all tested and all test came back negative. Someone up there had it and he caught it. He was still doing ok then his breathing changed so they started giving breathing treatments. Then they put him in a different room to keep down the germs. It started getting intense so they took him to the intensive care unit. Tt was really hard for my little man to indure all the meds and all the equipment. This process wore him down and he was so unhappy. I was up there one day to bring lunch and fresh clothing to Toka and she said Messiah look your daddy is here you want to see him he shook his head no. That head shake is in stitchedin my mind I replay it daily. My baby boy my handsome and very beautiful son died up there it was too much for a seven year old to handle. He passed May 5th. I really thought he was coming home.I would have never thought he wasn't gonna make it home. My daughter Reign is a hero it was a last atempt to save him with some of her white blood cells. Reign went to surgery the day before Messiah passed to help save her brother, But it was to late. Rest In Peace Messiah You Fought A Good Fight This Is Why I Called You Super Messiah..Missed By Everybody That Loved You.
William HowardPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesMy first love pasted away
Hello my name is Jennifer but people who know me calls me Jenny. When I was in the 7 th grade my best friend Dabrene moved away and went to providence middle and We would talk everyday on the phone after school. One day while talking on the phone with my best friend she was telling me about a boy she liked named Ricky. Dabrene was afraid to talk Ricky herself and asked me to call him and ask him if he liked her. I called Ricky to ask him if he liked her but he didn’t know who she was. When I talked to my friend After school and told her what Ricky said. Dabrene told me to let him Know that she would be wearing green at school and I told him what she said. The next day after school my best friend called me to find out what Ricky said so I told her that he said he like me and not her but I told her I would not talk to him because she was my best friend. Dabrene told me it was okay for me to talk to him.
Replaceable Children
Fresh snow began to fall forming a light dusting over the dirt packed snow lining the sides of the road. Sitting beside my older brother, Wayne, I press my forehead against the cold window of the school bus and huffed out hot breath, steaming up the window pane and began drawing circles around the flashing street lights.
Deborah RangerPublished 4 years ago in FamiliesLast Breath
What did it really mean to die? I don’t know, I don’t really know. But my thoughts wandered all over the place as I bled out on the floor of my garage. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I reached for my phone, trying to grab my phone and dialing 9-1-1.
Abygael SilversPublished 4 years ago in Families