And so, our new baby son was safely born six weeks ago. It’s taken this long for me to have the will to write again, although I’ve jotted thoughts down as they arose and have again found many things surprising. It was the perfect home birth. Four hours in labour and out he popped, smallContinueContinue reading “New life, new grief”
Tag Archives: Death
Surviving grief
Surviving my bereavement is not something I feel I’ve achieved by any means, yet, but I am beginning to see that in order to survive the loss of my child, I’ve needed to find and maintain a balance between grieving and living. ‘Surviving’ feels like an unusual word to use when I consider that it’sContinueContinue reading “Surviving grief”
Olympic dreams
The start of the Winter Olympics has brought back memories of Abi’s excitement for the 2012 London Olympics. It is hard to know she is not here to watch this with us, no doubt she would have loved it. She followed the London Olympic events with interest and I can remember watching the amazing openingContinueContinue reading “Olympic dreams”
Fundraising … far more than charity
A few days after Abi died, we were already thinking about how we could somehow give something back to the people who helped her, and as a way to remember her life. It’s hard to explain why, while sat in a hospital waiting room with my daughter still with us, I had this urge toContinueContinue reading “Fundraising … far more than charity”
There is always tomorrow…
Some days I feel like grief has slapped me in the face so hard. This was one of them, about four months (in July) after Abi died. I wrote about this particular day as it was a full 24 hours of challenging thoughts and emotions… Last night, I dreamed about ending my life. Well, toContinueContinue reading “There is always tomorrow…”
Counting your blessings after the death of your child
At times in the past year, I’ve heard it suggested that at least we have our other children to keep us going. It’s never said to mean that Abi’s death was any less distressing, but as a way to comfort and reassure. I’ve often thought this myself too. When I feel mournful, I consider howContinueContinue reading “Counting your blessings after the death of your child”
Family comforts … but who’s comforting who?
The death of a child, quite naturally, has a huge impact on an entire family and the aftershocks can be widespread and ongoing. In my case, my immediate family (husband and other two children) were emotionally torn, yet we had to find a way to continue to live our lives together, finding new routines andContinueContinue reading “Family comforts … but who’s comforting who?”
The fragility of life – when death comes knocking
In my blog, My grief observed, I wrote about death bringing the fragility of life to the forefront. When you hear of someone dying it makes you consider, even briefly, your own mortality. When it happens directly to someone you love, it often forces you to focus on your own life/health much more intensely, thatContinueContinue reading “The fragility of life – when death comes knocking”
Balancing the kindness of strangers…
[Taken from notes written around July 2013] After Abi died, we kept people informed via Facebook, which was a great help to us as it saved having to contact lots of people at an impossibly difficult time and also prevented any misunderstanding about what had happened to her – many people who knew Abi wereContinueContinue reading “Balancing the kindness of strangers…”
Four months on… what is grief anyway?
[This blog was taken from notes I’d written whilst sat with Abi at the cemetery around 10th June 2013.] Four months on, is that right? Have I grieved? Have I even started…? What is the point of all that crying if at the end I still feel such deep and painful sorrow? Crying usually releasesContinueContinue reading “Four months on… what is grief anyway?”
Chasing Dragonflies 