Yesterday, the news reported that Cilla Black – one of the UK’s ‘national treasures’ of entertainment, had died. The Media was ‘shocked and saddened’ by the news. Then social media saw a flurry of posts as people shared their own ‘shock’ at her death. Cilla? Dead? That cannot be? Even Bruce Forsyth said he wasContinueContinue reading “When celebrities die – Why are we still so ‘shocked’ by death?”
Tag Archives: mourning
The significance of memorial flowers
Today is Remembrance Day and war memorials all over the country are displaying poppy wreaths in memory of those who lost their lives serving our country. The Tower of London featured a magnificent and moving poppy tribute this year. It got me thinking about the symbolism of memorial flowers and what that means to meContinueContinue reading “The significance of memorial flowers”
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”
The heartache of decluttering after my daughter diedÂ
Ever since I had children, I’ve been bagging up clothes and toys for either car boot sales or charity shops, although it always seems the more I ‘recycle’ the more ‘stuff’ comes back into the house! It’s been a long time since we did a car boot… I say ‘we’ as normally Abi and IContinueContinue reading “The heartache of decluttering after my daughter died “
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?”
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?”
Candles for comfort
I was never a big candle user before we lost Abi. Having young children meant we needed to keep hazards to a minimum, they were a luxury in that regard! So, they were used for special events only and the odd occasion when I took one of those ‘mummy time’ baths purely to relax andContinueContinue reading “Candles for comfort”
Chasing Dragonflies 