In The Beginning
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I have recently passed the 26th year of missing my son, Adam. He was a pilot and died while giving a lesson to a student. He experienced an engine problem and wasn’t able to survive when they landed. Adam was only 23 and married just 3 short months. He was the kind of kid that everyone loved the moment they met him. I’d like to share insights that I have learned over the past two decades and hope it helps you. Writing my book, Healing Reflections for a Grieving Mom’s Heart, was a great help to me in my grief journey.
First, I learned that I wasn’t going out-of-my-mind when I couldn’t remember the smallest things that first year, and beyond. I called it “cotton brain.” What helped me was to start writing in a journal. When sleep wouldn’t come, I would write to Adam. I poured out my heart about how much I missed him, how angry I was that the plane failed to perform to keep him safe. I told him about my day, all the little things that I would have told him if he were sitting next to me. And most of all I told him over and over that I loved him and missed him. Later, I thought about starting a blog to serve others in grief.
Acknowledging My Grief
Another thing was to acknowledge my grief, give myself grace to grieve my huge loss. I couldn’t worry about what others thought if I showed my sorrow. Now, I had to let go of the “advice” I received from others. I also found that some of my friends couldn’t handle being around someone so sad, so they left. I needed to find new friends that understood my grief. Compassionate Friends was a good resource.
A friend that had a couple of years into the grieving the death of her daughter gave us invaluable advice. She told me, “You can’t lean on a broken fence and you and Mark, (my husband), are broken.” That’s when we began looking for a grief counselor to help us each navigate through our grief rather than expect help from each other. I highly recommend doing the same. It is a huge relief to be able to share anything on your heart with someone and to not be judged, but instead just listened to. Not everyone finds the one that will work for them right away. I think that if the first one doesn’t work out, keep looking until you find one is that does, sort of like trying on a pair of shoes! You rarely find the right ones that fit with the first pair you try on.
Self-Care
Soon I realized how important it was to take care of myself, not only mentally but physically too. In those first months I could have cared less about my well-being. But I knew from resources that I read that if I didn’t, I could become a statistic that affects so many because of the impaired immune system. Illness can be one, also accidents increase causing some nasty physical consequences, sometimes for a lifetime. Did you know that when we experience a death of a loved one, it is a brain injury?
Because of this we don’t think rationally when it comes to taking care of ourselves, but our traumatized brain needs us to. Going for a walk is a great stress reliever or take some “me” time to just sit outside and listen to the birds. It can give a much-needed break for your mind and body. And sometimes we just need to have a good cry. It releases so much tension that builds up.
Reading what others have gone through is also a great way to find peace and hope, whether reading a book or even someone’s blog post. They all work together to bring healing and hope.
Another great help is to laugh. It is natural to feel like we shouldn’t because we are somehow not missing our kids if we do, but it’s not at all the truth. Nothing could make us miss them any less. Try tuning in to a classic Carol Burnett show. It’s so good for the soul to laugh even for a moment. I learned that I needed the laughter as much as feeling the grief of missing Adam in order to have healthy healing.
Without realizing it, writing this blog and my book Healing Reflections for a Grieving Mom’s Heart was a catalyst for healing during my grief journey.
Final Thoughts
And my final insight and the most important one for me was to not only look at my loss, but also count the blessings that our beautiful children left us. The most wonderful way to honor them is to go on living. To say their names and to share our stories. If we do that, we could be helping another hurting heart because we “get it.” Now, I look back at those first entries in my journal and see how far I have come. I didn’t believe I would survive, but I did! Sure, I miss my son and always will, but I have found joy in life again. I can talk about Adam now and smile at the precious memories that we shared.
Healing Reflections for a Grieving Mom’s Heart
You will find my book Healing Reflections for a Grieving Mom’s Heart listed on Amazon.com.
Inspirational – Motivational – Transformational
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