One of the biggest challenges I think I’ve faced since Abi’s death is understanding my other children’s different reactions. Contrary to my posts about openly talking about Abi and avoiding the elephant in the room, the approach with our children has had to be carefully considered. Abi has always been in their lives. Her sisterContinueContinue reading “Say her name… but not too much, Mum!”
Tag Archives: family
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”
Tie a leopard-print ribbon…
Abi’s memorial has a cherry blossom tree next to it, but it’s only young, having been planted last May with her ashes. The first small buds are starting to form ready for springtime. So, while it’s still small and not much to look at, it is a poignant reminder that life carries on… Soon thereContinueContinue reading “Tie a leopard-print ribbon…”
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”
Abi’s dragonflies
I’ve just been browsing an old computer file of Abi’s artwork… random stories, computer drawings and images saved over the years. How interesting to find a file called DRAGON FLYS. It was created on 9th February 2009 … wow … four years before Abi died. She would have been nine years old then. There’s noContinueContinue reading “Abi’s dragonflies”
And then our world fell apart
It is exactly a year ago today that Abi came downstairs looking pale and complained she felt really ill. Exactly a year since our world was turned upside down and inside out. I never really imagined what this day would be like, despite people telling me ‘all the anniversaries will be hard’. Anniversaries? Anniversaries areContinueContinue reading “And then our world fell apart”
Blogging it out of my system
Since resuming my blog, I’ve had an outpouring of writing (or rather overthinking!) and have realised I’ve posted around 20 new blogs in just two weeks! Yikes! When I paused the blog some seven months or so ago, my mind had stopped knowing quite what to say. I’d managed to get Abi’s story down -ContinueContinue reading “Blogging it out of my system”
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”
Chasing Dragonflies 