A Parent's Heartache

"A grieving parent is someone who will never forget their child no matter how painful memories are.  

A grieving parent is someone who yearns to be with their child but cannot conceive leaving their living ones.

A grieving parent is someone who has part of a heart as the rest has gone with their child.

A grieving parent is someone who begs for relief from the memories which plague them and then feels guilty when they get it.

A grieving parent is someone who pretends to be happy and enjoying life when they are really dying inside.

A grieving parent is someone who can cry or laugh at the drop of a hat whenever they remember their beloved child.

A grieving parent is someone who feels as if they have just lost their child yesterday no matter how much time has passed.

A grieving parent is someone who fears for their remaining family because they cannot bear to have any more losses.

A grieving parent is someone who sits by their child's memorial and feels a knife stabbing their heart.

A grieving parent is someone who wants to help others who have lost a loved one because somehow other's loss is theirs all over again"

-From 'Grieving Mothers'

Some hard memories...


At the hospital, Emily would grab a hold of my finger. One time, she wouldn't let go. I, on the other hand, had to go see my other two children. We needed to leave. But Emily wouldn't let my finger go; she held on so tightly! I had to gently pull my finger out of her clasp, and whisper my good byes, feeling so torn.


Before Emily was laid in her coffin, we had wrapped Emily's body in a white baby blanket. Well, Joel wrapped her, I couldn't do it. She was so flimsy. So cold. So...dead.


I will forever remember the sound of rock and dirt against Emily's white coffin as Joel and the guys buried our daughter. It was over. I would not see her face again. I would not touch her skin again; even if it was cold, it was still Emily.