Birthdays & Black Holes:
Today our son Sam would have been 12. When I originally sat down to write this blog I had plans to make it cheerful or at least upbeat�really. After all, a birthday should be a celebration of life. But the truth is�that�s really not where my heart is right now. The struggle between how you�d like to think and feel�in contrast to the reality of how you think and feel having lost a child so young�is palpable. Bereaved parents don�t want to be �Debbie Downers�; we don�t like feeling sad; but sometimes that�s just our own personal reality. The �new normal� as they say. Don�t get me wrong. There is a lot to be thankful for and, perhaps even more so than others, bereaved parents are indeed thankful for what we still have�our other children, our spouses, our family, our friends, a very supportive community, an opportunity to do good and make a difference�the list is quite long. Yet, there remains a hole in our hearts�a hole in our lives�that...