¤ Reflections of a Mother ~ Denied ¤ ~On Mother's Day, I have asked myself,"Do I have the right to celebrate Mother's Day?~ ~Have I truly been a mother this past year? The answer is YES ~Each Day I have cared for my child as every mother does, ~Except differently~~In every way possible I have mothered him~ ~I have mothered him with every tear shed; Through the agony of longing to hold him~ ~I have rocked him in my heart, if not in my arms~ ~I have kissed his little cheeks in my mind, if not with my lips~ ~Smelled his sweetness with my hopes, if not my nose~ ~Felt his memory with my memory, if not my hands~ ~Tickled him with my wishes, if not with my fingers~ ~Am I a mother? I truly am~~My physical mothering has been limited to lovingly tending his grave~ ~But, I am a mother all the same~ ~Poem By: Michelle Parrish~ ¤ The Greatest Grief ¤ A sudden accident killed YOUR child. That terrible phone call changed your life with no warning you didn't get to say goodbye this has to be the most terrible loss of all ~ ~ YOUR child died by suicide YOU feel you should have been able to prevent it. Your guilt is devastating. How can you live with such an incomprehensible tragedy? ~ ~ YOU only had one child Now you have none and your focus in life is gone. What's the point of living? What could be more devastating? ~ ~ YOU'VE experienced the deaths of more than one of your children Will it happen again? How does one survive this pain again? ~ ~ When YOUR baby died, your dreams died You have few memories... and you're too young to be suffering like this This loss is the most unfair ~ ~ Someone murdered YOUR child An unbelievable violation You're angry and your frustration with the legal system feeds your anger. This must be the very worst ~ ~ YOU'RE a single parent Your child has died and you have no one to lean on, no one to share your grief Surely your suffering is the most painful ~ ~ The unbelievable has happened YOUR adult child died You had invested so much in that child Now who's going to care for you in your old age? ~ ~ YOU had to watch your child suffer bravely through a long illness. You were helpless to ease his pain and prevent his death How do you erase those horrible images? Yours must be the greatest grief ~ :: The truth is that death of ANY child is the greatest loss :: Regardless of the cause, regardless of the age. Our own experience is far more painful Then we had ever previously envisioned. So how could we possibly comprehend what others have undergone? :: To make comparisons between our own suffering and the pain of others Is an exercise in futility. It accomplishes NOTHING And sometimes can be hurtful to others. To say that one type of death produces a greater or deeper grief than others Tends to place different values on the children who have died :: :: Each child is worthy of 100% of our grief :: Each person's sorrow is 100%, and each loss is 100% Because we love each child; ~those still living and those who have died~ With 100% of our being! :: I can't imagine wanting to walk in the shoes Of any other bereaved parent. Can YOU?? ~Poem By: Peggy Gibson~