Holidays are especially hard to go through the first few years after the death of your child. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Easter are family times.

My two sons died October 26, 1990 and one month later came that awful first Thanksgiving. The thing that helped most was the fact that our family was still in shock. We did know that we could not handle a large gathering of all our relatives that year, so we found a restaurant open and just ate alone: my husband Leon; my only child left Anne; and myself.

The first Christmas came only two months later, as the shock was wearing down. As a family, we attended our church’s Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. I sat there and remembered the year that my oldest son assisted the pastor with the service and tears came rolling down my cheeks. But I also felt God’s presence during the whole service, comforting my heart. I knew that my Heavenly Father knew the horrible pain I felt as a bereaved parent. On Christmas morning, I went to the church service alone. I remembered that when my children were small, they would leave their new toys and come to church with me & never complained. So keeping the traditions really helped me remember them in a positive way.

I even wrote an article for our newspaper about them. I have found through the years following the death of my sons, families need to do whatever helps them. You can even change your activities on these holidays and take a trip as a family or have a special place set at the family table in their honor. You can talk about your child to family members and ask them to share some of their favorite memories with you.

 

 
 

FROM THE HEART OF JERRY  ~HOPE~

FROM THE HEART OF JERRY  ~BECAUSE HE LIVES~

 
 

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