The last time my hubby and I sat in front of the telly in the lounge with our children all in bed upstairs was around 4th February 2013, over three years ago. We always had a fairly reasonable bedtime routine for our three children. Upstairs around 8pm, get ready and then a story. As Abi and herContinueContinue reading “Reinstating our children’s bedtime routine”
Tag Archives: loss of a child
Halloween just got scary
[I didn’t post this blog about Halloween at the time, I suppose to avoid offending anyone or to put a damper on the fun, but reading back on it, it’s certainly worth sharing. It’s not a major worry for me now, and who knows how I’ll feel about it in the years to come, butContinueContinue reading “Halloween just got scary”
Coping (or rather not!) with a tween’s grief
I feel like I’ve been winded. My tummy feels tight. I am crying. The tears started and didn’t stop. The happy feeling dissolved. My heart hurts and I don’t know which way to turn. How to act for the best. An argument with my 11-year-old daughter caused this. I have to write – I reallyContinueContinue reading “Coping (or rather not!) with a tween’s grief”
Memories of our last holiday together
As friends and family head off on half term holidays, I’m glad to have a relaxing week ahead with my children. But I feel a slight pang of envy, as I know we are in need of a proper holiday, but with the new baby I’d not had the strength to plan one. Who needsContinueContinue reading “Memories of our last holiday together”
Tears for Abi at bedtime
Perhaps it was because I’d just told my six-year-old son that he looked a bit like Abi when he gave me a cheeky grin. It wasn’t to make him feel sad, it just slipped out. Is it bad to say things like that? I don’t know. Last night, my son was getting ready for bedContinueContinue reading “Tears for Abi at bedtime”
An epiphany in the garden
At the weekend, I had an epiphany. As the weather was hot, we got out the paddling pool and spent time in the garden. The first time this year. At first, the children were reluctant to join in (much to my hubbie’s annoyance as he’d spent the best part of the morning getting the poolContinueContinue reading “An epiphany in the garden”
Organ donation: Abi’s parting gift
As Dying Matters Week draws to a close, I wanted to share with you my personal experience of organ donation. It’s vital we feel able to talk about aspects of death like this. I have shared, in quite some detail, the process that is necessary in order to donate organs to another – a dilemmaContinueContinue reading “Organ donation: Abi’s parting gift”
“Abi was beautiful and clever and wonderful”
Some days I feel a heavy sense of confusion with my grief and the effort of trying to hold myself and my family together with some kind of normality. Yet, it’s often on days like this, when a sort of gloom has set in, that I receive an unexpected message of comfort. It could beContinueContinue reading ““Abi was beautiful and clever and wonderful””
What a baby sock taught me about grief
This tiny sock, apart from being utterly cute, revealed a lot to me about how my shopping habits have changed over the past 14 months. Abi had not long turned 12 and, now that she was at secondary school, she had become more interested in fashion; New Look was a particular favourite shop of hers.ContinueContinue reading “What a baby sock taught me about grief”
How do you discipline a grieving child?
The title of this post might seem odd. Perhaps it should read ‘How could you…?’ Why would you discipline a child who was grieving for a lost friend or relative (in our case sibling) and recovering from the trauma of that loss when all they need is love, understanding and security? We feel we areContinueContinue reading “How do you discipline a grieving child?”
Chasing Dragonflies 