Mother's Day

MOTHER’S DAY

When we are young, we celebrate Mother’s Day in honor of our mother’s and grandmother’s. Life is easy, no cares, no worries and no responsibilities

We become adults and have our own children

Mother’s Day is then a day to honor us

We celebrate with our children

It is a day full of joy and happiness.

One day, we receive the news that our child has died

Our joyful, happy lives have been shattered

We simply can’t believe this has happened

There must be some mistake, it can’t be true.

The initial shock wears off

Reality sets in

Our lives will never be the same.

One moment leads to the next

One day followed by another

One year flows through endless time.

Every year, Mother’s Day arrives

It has now become a day of longing and remembering

We find ways to honor our child

To celebrate the life we shared

It will never be the same.

On Mother’s Day of 2002, my only child, Kenny, left Arizona to drive home to VT after completing his freshman year of college. The date on his death certificate is May 14^th. This year, those two days have become one. Time truly has no meaning. It doesn’t seem possible that 15 years ago Kenny died.

You are receiving this message because you too are a bereaved mother. The bond that we share is unlike any other and one we wish we were not part of. It is through the unconditional love of our children that you all have come into my life. You all hold a loving sacred space in my heart that I am eternally grateful for. You all have played an important role which has allowed me to continue to walk this path of grief. Distances and time may keep us apart, yet I know you are always there with love and understanding when I reach out to you.

Tomorrow we will wake to Mother’s Day, missing and loving our children. We will always be their mother, we will always carry them in our heart and we will always remember them.

Tomorrow I will light a candle for all of you and all our children. Their light will continue to shine brightly because they will never be forgotten and we will never walk alone.