Loss of an Adult Child

[JD's Mom, Becky]

Thanks, Dee. You are right, my body is paying the price for the levels of stress put upon it. Lately, it has been my bladder that is having issues. I try to drink plenty of water, but stress and diabetes are not a good match.

I do enjoy looking and working in the flowerbeds, although they are just another reminder of what is missing from the equation. I just want to see him and hold him so badly. The thoughts of what happened that night, and this vile person that has ruined our lives, and the lack of real justice, just brings me to tears everytime I think of it, and the images and facts float through my brain like a ever repeating video.

[ericasmom]

I know Becky, it is so hard to not replay. It was the second anniversary that threw me very hard. We had to be deposed just before that time, by AMTRAK's Lawyers who were out for blood. It was so disturbing and so harsh, I watched my Son and was not allowed to comment, (rules of depositions) and he wept for his Sis, for the loss, I heard him tell pieces of that night that he never told me, and never broached again, because he can't, it was too tragic, and so so very sad. Those sirens he heard were for his Sis. So at two years, I felt myself disintegrate, almost unrecognizable, but I had to let that happen, the events forced my guard to be gone, and I rose after that time, in a way that allowed me to reintegrate my pieces, add those broken ones to those that were always there. It takes time, it takes its toll, but here we are shining the light that our Babies gave us. Oh, I also stopped the constant replay of events, which took some huge effort but was absolutely what Erz would have me do.

Still

I am an old piece of wood,

now splintered-

I am a pane of glass that is cracked-

I am the old canyon wall

further eroded by time.

While I am still who I have always been-

I am fragmented by her leaving.

And I stand crooked with tears at the ready-

In her light,

listening and watching for signs from Eri

[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[Mermaid Tears]

I have so much to post on all this...for now....I am trying to bring all my thoughts and emotions into something that will be easy to read...so many layers on all this....so complex...so very raw...and so very hard to understand on any level of understanding....

[Mermaid Tears]

This has been haunting me....

When my daughter was a Freshman in college...she met a girl from North Texas...a small town I cannot remember....my daughter would bring many 'new friends' to our home...just like our sons would do...anyway.....this friend came to visit my daughter about 3 years ago...and her brother had been killed in a car accident when she was in college....I asked about her family and she said that her parents had never got over their 'grief life'....that her family had been changed forever with her brother's passing....and in all the years her siblings had never been able to make it alright with her parent's...and that their family had been changed forever...and that she and her siblings had felt like they had been abandoned....but they could not do anything to make it better.....she talked about how sad it always was to go home..and that nothing could allow her parents to move on...

so...I do have to think of all that....right now...I am not ready to move on...but I do know that John David would be the first one to say...Mom...lighten up....get on with things...I don't want my children to have that burden to carry...ever....it is just so damn hard...

[ericasmom]

Susan, in many ways that young lady brought you a haunting gift, the gift of knowing how painful it was for she and her siblings to not feel joined by their parents again. I think that you and your husband are doing what you can right now to make sure that they all feel loved and appreciated. One thing for sure that we none of us can change is that we all have been altered, that each family that loses someone young, is changed forever. What we do with that change can make the biggest difference between kids growing up and feeling abandoned and growing up and feeling a part of a team. Your family sounds team-like. Remember, it has not even been a year for you and I get the feeling that this young woman was talking over years of time.

I do think my biggest influence besides ERI herself, was and is Jonathan. I needed to be as available to him, as able to express myself to him and as able to recall memories for him to let him know that grief takes time, that it fills us with every emotion there is, and that at some point, remembering won't hurt as much but that shoving it away will.

Laurie, if you and your family choose to go after justice just be careful with yourselves. Check in with each other to check on emotional health. It feels like a job, and each day you have this purpose but if it does not go where you hoped or expected, it feels like another loss. You must be careful and you must take good care of yourselves while you are in the midst of it all. It is all consuming sometimes.

[Guest]

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[Mermaid Tears]

So much to ponder on...

Dee used the word...'disintegrate'......and I thought of the "Phoenix"...the mythical bird that is regenerated or reborn...but can only obtain a new life by arising from it's ashes....it has to crash and burn..in another way....like we are marching into a 'new normal'....another kind of life.....

Warrior Mom..Becky....you have fought the good fight...I feel your 'tired' through the screen...you have battle scars although they are under the skin....I have not been in your shoes...but many have...and they are giving you some good advice...to 'self care'....stress can do so much harm....also...it is unseen...subtle...I have mentioned this before...I take AZO cranberry tablets...2 in the morning..2 in the afternoon...I have not had kidney/bladder infection in 4 years...stress can play havoc with a woman's bladder..(for some reason)...

Laurie...you have the same 'mountain' to climb as others here...to seek justice where the law has ignored it's duty....

I just want everyone here to know that what you post...I feel an honor to read...and I feel very loyal to all that post here for the respect of you and your Angel Child....and would never copy and re-post one word you have shared. I have copied poems...but they are just for me.

[ericasmom]

Indeed so much to ponder Susan. Let the pondering happen and if you have the time write down your ponderings and wanderings. These are like footprints that you can look back on adn see from where you came. It is a good tool to help you through the dark tunnels.

Lora, I know those waves that lap at your ankles, at your calves, at your heart. Holding your hand as you tread water.

I have written a grief story about a Boy who loses his Dad suddenly. I wrote this a year ago or so, and just lately started adding some details to it and like what it has turned out to be. This is the project then for my 6 week class, to bring this book to ready itself to be sent out or to self-publish. Fingers crossed. Tomorrow night, my classmates will discuss mine and two other classmates stories.

I tutored this morning at 7:30 for a girl going into 5th grade needing strengthening in math and at 9;00 a 5th grader needing reading work. Now I might take a bike ride before the heat comes on. It is supposed to be 87 later and humid. My allergies are nasty, but hey, can't stay in.

[daveydow1]

Hello to Everyone at BI.......I'm just back from a week's vacation to the seashore, and

wanted to just check in.

Dee----Your poem is so very eloquent and true. I guess that anyone who loses

a beloved child can never come through with no cracks, splinters, or signs of passed time.

It is inevitable that there will be cracks and scars. They may heal over to a degree,

but they will always be there. The sorrow and loss will be a permanenet part of our lives.

Lora-----

Wishing good luck to your son Jared in his move and new field of work.

Becky---I agree with the others who say that taking care of yourself now, is a good thing.

Thoughts & prayers.

PEACE AND TRANQUILITY TO ALL INDIGOS.

Davey&Lisasmom, Sherry

[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[mikesmomrs]

DEE: You wrote: "Oh, I also stopped the constant replay of events, which took some huge effort but was absolutely what Erz would have me do." I am stuck in that "replay" right now...such an awful place to be...as in trying not to think of the pink elephant...it is then ALL we can think of, only on a much more profound note. I read your poem, and unconsciously replaced "her" with "their" and my heart sobs at the rereading. I am broken...I am "splintered" and "cracked," "eroded" from time and tears, and fragmented in my attempts at living again; even knowing that that is also what "they" would have me do, just as you knew that Erz would want you to do. I had come far in my healing; still missing young Mike of course...a forever thing... still wishing in the dark of night when alone and I would think of what was gone, what was lost...but healing. Living. Finding joy. I moved through most days with love and purpose once again, trying to ensure by example that my family would find their joy anew as well. Now, while I am perhaps not back at square one exactly, I am certainly retracing my steps, moving through the sorrow, the missing, the wishing once again, yet knowing how it is going to end...that nothing will change the past, that I can only change the future for myself and thus hopefully for those who look to me for direction; for reassurance that their life will go on and they will find that new path we all look for on this journey. I don't want us to be like the family that SUSAN told us about..the family of her daughter's friend who told her that her family was broken forever. Over a long time, we found healing over the loss of young Mike. Yes, we were changed forever, but as you wrote, it "is what we do with that change" that makes the difference. I think myself and my family are on the right track...it is a track, after all, that we learned well over these last almost 7 years. But for now, we flounder, we move a bit forward, only to find ourselves falling back and our footing so unsure again. "What would they want?" is an easy question to answer with words. But the actual doing of the actions, oh, that is the where the mind has not yet conquered what the heart is telling it. And all of us here on BI, some are still too broken to do that, still too "splintered" and "cracked." In time, in time, I know. And I hold tightly onto that thread of hope, because it is a thread I am well acquainted with...it is the thread of healing, weaving life back into us, slowly, over time, each of us, in our own time. My thoughts and prayers, as always, are with you all, each day. I treasure your words, from all of you...they strengthen that thread of hope that I cling to once again.

[briansdad]

Life is not forever...Love is. what a great thing to keep in mind!

everyone's pictures are wonderful. love seeing all your kids!! hope all the sibs are doing ok. mine roll up and down. got an application for appeal for financial aid for marshall. got to run all over getting letters (including the funeral director?) and write one myself and send with death cert. and obit.

forest's good friend posted some short videos he had been hoarding for himself with some clips of forest, one of ashlie and forest's voice in several others. this kid has been very devastated. he is getting married in aug. to a vietnamese girl who told me the night i went to address the anime club- "when i first meet forest i have crush on him. i can not see him for a week cause i james'girlfriend but i have crush on forest. i get to go to akon because forest take care of me and make me safe. he check bathroom for me and watch door. he not like other american boy" so cute and sweet. anyway seeing a new moving pic of him and hearing his voice took my breath away.

It's funny you say that. That's the very thing I put on my stickers. Love is forever. www.Angel-images.biz

[briansdad]

Brian's little girl turned fourteen Sunday. She was only 5 when he died. I hope she remembers her Daddy. At times I wonder.

[dsmurph]

Jessie' s Mom, laurie, Thank you so much for sharing the understanding you came to about your mom. I just had a conversation with my 23 year old daughter yesterday about how much pain we, as parents feel and how I wish she could understand. I don't want that pain for her, I just wish she understood the depth of pain we feel. Your words helped me some on my end. I have thought that maybe she is not supposed to because it would be too much on her. I am seeing that a parent's grief is different from a sibling's. Not any less, just different.

[tlillyb]

to Dee, Becky, Laurie, Susan, Betsy, Gretchen, Colleen, Lora and everyone here suffering from the loss of a child....

when Chris died, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced….the nightmare started when Buddy called me from the tracks where Chris ended his short life, he was screaming and crying and the events after that were truly numbing…I can’t even remember the ride from work to be with my son….but once I got there, the memory is burned into my brain….Buddy and Nathan (the other of the muskateers) chalk white and sobbing and holding on to each other for dear life, his parents and brothers in shock….i was sick, the pain in my belly had me doubled over…I get that same pain when I think about Chris and that afternoon…

I spent Sunday reading your posts and profiles and I was brought back to the tracks and Chris’s mom… ….and the pain you go thru every day missing your child….made worse dealing with lawyers and hearings and criminals or neglect or whatever demon that caused this. I am awestruck by your strength...and ability to take one day at a time and focus on whatever helps you to get thru….

My son goes to grief counseling and pretty much does okay….but I see him sometimes when he’s staring into space with his eyes glazed over….or when he plays “fix you” on the piano….i know he’s thinking about and missing his friend and I worry that maybe he’s not so okay…

theresa

[briansdad]

Indeed so much to ponder Susan. Let the pondering happen and if you have the time write down your ponderings and wanderings. These are like footprints that you can look back on adn see from where you came. It is a good tool to help you through the dark tunnels.

Lora, I know those waves that lap at your ankles, at your calves, at your heart. Holding your hand as you tread water.

I have written a grief story about a Boy who loses his Dad suddenly. I wrote this a year ago or so, and just lately started adding some details to it and like what it has turned out to be. This is the project then for my 6 week class, to bring this book to ready itself to be sent out or to self-publish. Fingers crossed. Tomorrow night, my classmates will discuss mine and two other classmates stories.

I tutored this morning at 7:30 for a girl going into 5th grade needing strengthening in math and at 9;00 a 5th grader needing reading work. Now I might take a bike ride before the heat comes on. It is supposed to be 87 later and humid. My allergies are nasty, but hey, can't stay in.

Dee if you want some insight for your book I lost my Dad when I was 7.

[ericasmom]

Greg thanks so much, I should send it on to you but I will wait until my classmates have had a good look. I am getting positive comments about it so far. As a teacher, I have known some kids that have lost a parent, it is devastating as many of you know from watching your Grandies cope. It is different from what we go through, it is different than what siblings go through, and it is something we simply don't address in this society as well and as often as we should.

Really, 14 Greg, how can she be so grown? I know she looks like her Daddy, and I will guess that she will indeed remember her Pops. Are you and your wife still spending as much time as you'd like with her?

Carol, you are not very far outside your dates of losing your Sweet Husband. Yes it is what we do with our grief that will resonate most in the family, especially for those counting on us to lead the way through, but first one must find their own footing in the muck and then can find ways that allow us to clear some hurdles. I think back to the time when you first came her with the loss of Sweet young Mike. You were compelled to stand as Matriarch of the whole Clan, you led but you also grieved, you had to grieve for your loss but you also led the others to know that grieving is one piece of the march forward. It is in that example of allowing our grief, of finding rituals that honor our loved ones, that help the others to also stay connected to us and us to them. There are those that never find ways to continue being connected to those family members that are also grieving, and then there is a double loss. I remember when Jonathan could not talk at all about Eri, he lived just a few blocks away and he and his dad could not talk but shut down pretty much for a long long time. I felt as though I was losing my Son in that time, and I was terrified that he might never find his life again.

I think that your family worked very hard to find their lives again, you and Ralph helped all of the Boys understand that they were always loved but that it would hurt for a long while before memories would be joyous again. You always let them and your Daughters know that you loved them, even if it took extra energy to do so, they never wondered if you still loved them.

I have not met a mom or dad here who has not moved in a way that involved trying to keep the family talking and communicating. That is probably due to the fact that we all sought out places that could help us understand what was happening to us. It is those families that shut the world out and stay in a static way and never reach out to read a book about grief, or talk to anyone about grief, that are most prone to the disintegration of family ties.

Oh those replay times Carol, all I know is that I had to physically do something each evening at the time of evening that Erz and I last spoke, I had to do something other than take a walk, even if it was ride a bike, or call my sister or whatever...I had to change the loop of that sad sad tape.

It is of course just a blink away from being viewed, of course I view it at times, but now know when enough is enough.

Sherry, so glad that you got away and enjoyed some time in a different place. I know it must have been pretty. I am glad that you like that poem, yes, we are all of us splintered and worn, we are broken in places that will mend but never heal all the way over. We are reminded by these scars that our love is forever, that we wear it proudly and easily because that is how we keep those little Dears alongside, riding shotgun in our lives.

[ericasmom]

_{This is the second paragraph from my story;}

My Dad’s best friends and his two brothers, all red-eyed and sad looking carried the blue box, oh I mean casket, out of the church and down the steps into a big black car called a hearse. I hate all of the words that I had to learn like hearse, casket, wake, burial, and eulogy, funeral, departed, and widow and I really got sick of the words GRIEF and MOURNING. I wondered who invented these words in the first place. Then I started thinking that if the words were never dreamed up, maybe things like dying and funerals wouldn’t happen. But I am older now, and I understand more. Now I realize that words are created so that we can communicate about the events in our lives, not that the words caused the events.

[Mermaid Tears]

_{This is the second paragraph from my story;}

My Dad’s best friends and his two brothers, all red-eyed and sad looking carried the blue box, oh I mean casket, out of the church and down the steps into a big black car called a hearse. I hate all of the words that I had to learn like hearse, casket, wake, burial, and eulogy, funeral, departed, and widow and I really got sick of the words GRIEF and MOURNING. I wondered who invented these words in the first place. Then I started thinking that if the words were never dreamed up, maybe things like dying and funerals wouldn’t happen. But I am older now, and I understand more. Now I realize that words are created so that we can communicate about the events in our lives, not that the words caused the events.

Bingo !!

[Guest]

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[Jeff's Mom]

Oh my son, your death has brought me to this place of healing. I feel like the ground in winter, I am hard, cold, dead and broken. Then in time hope begins to surface like the new spring flowers. I know we will be reunited again in time. And like the flowers I too will find my season and then we will once again hold each other in loving embrace.

[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[ericasmom]

Thanks Susan. Funny, one of the many nicknames for Eri was BINGO, and shortened to BING.

Kate, yes that season of rebirth---one day. I hope the weather brought you outside today, under a blue sky.

Murph, I don't think that our Kids can fathom the breadth of our loss just as we can't fully understand theirs, that loss of the witness to their lives. I remember reading that, that siblings lose the witness to their lives and lose the person that they would know the longest. I broke down when I read those words. My Sweet Son, the pain is for all time too.

Lora, how very sad that there is another family going through the shock of what has happened. Prayers.

I am wishing Jared well as he comes to this great city to explore his options.

BRENDA? DEL? SANDY? SHELLY?

[Mermaid Tears]

Dee...the word.."Bingo" just popped in my thoughts as I read your post of your story....more later....I need to 'digest' everything everyone has posted...very moving...and I have been up since 3 AM...so much going on and so much to absorb...

[Jeff's Mom]

Just quickly getting ready to head to the hospital for yet another three day round of chemo. The sun is shining brightly today, Dee. The forecast is calling for lovely warm temps. Sherry, I am so pleased to see you. I hope that your holiday was a fun one! I am thinking of everyone today and hoping your day is a peaceful one. I must say that I am reading daily, but have found that I am in a bit of a slump and not much to say. Therefore I have not posted much lately. I am enjoying reading all of the heartfelt writing from everyone. Take care. Kate

[Mermaid Tears]

Just quickly getting ready to head to the hospital for yet another three day round of chemo. The sun is shining brightly today, Dee. The forecast is calling for lovely warm temps. Sherry, I am so pleased to see you. I hope that your holiday was a fun one! I am thinking of everyone today and hoping your day is a peaceful one. I must say that I am reading daily, but have found that I am in a bit of a slump and not much to say. Therefore I have not posted much lately. I am enjoying reading all of the heartfelt writing from everyone. Take care. Kate

Don't worry about posting...but please know we are holding you and your husband in our hearts and prayers and always welcome your news....hope the three days go well and both of you are lifted up in spirit, hope and faith...and that laughter and humor can find their way to lighten your burdens.

[ericasmom]

Kate prayers and love go alongside you and your Husband. May he take this round well and remain strong through it.

Big storms are crisscrossing the US today, there are warnings for folks from Iowa all the way to Maryland. My class might be cancelled this eve due to the possibilities, they expect straight line winds to be prevalent, and these could spawn tornadoes. Please Everyone, stay safe.

[Mermaid Tears]

Yes Maam...some bad 'Ju-Ju' weather is predicted...please 'hunker down'...

[Guest]

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[Mermaid Tears]

Kate, you and your husband are in my thoughts as he goes for another round of chem.

I agree Dee, please everyone stay safe. I just read that it could be straight winds at 240 mile per hour.

I have to work both jobs today and have tomorrow off. I hope you all have a good night.

This picture is a picture of the young boy that lost his life yesterday. This was a dance and he was not Cara's date but they were good friends. She has so many pictures of herself and friends.

Lora...what an amazing...simply gorgeous photo...she does have that 'Miss Sunshine Smile'...and I am at a loss of words...but words are all we have to say to you how very sorry I know we all are that you have yet another layer of grief on your already broken heart...and only those on this site know how it can penetrate clear to the bone. Thank you for sharing....by the way....did you both pick out that dress ? The colors seem to illuminate your and hers vibrant spirits.

[Jeff's Mom]

Kate, you and your husband are in my thoughts as he goes for another round of chem.

I agree Dee, please everyone stay safe. I just read that it could be straight winds at 240 mile per hour.

I have to work both jobs today and have tomorrow off. I hope you all have a good night.

This picture is a picture of the young boy that lost his life yesterday. This was a dance and he was not Cara's date but they were good friends. She has so many pictures of herself and friends.

will definitely be thinking of you tomorrow as I know that this is a very special day for you. Thanks for posting this picture. She does indeed have a lovely smile! They both looked so happy and I am sure the evening was filled with fun and laughter. Good memories to hold close to your heart. Thanks to everyone for your continued support. We have had enough chemo now that it has definitely begun to kick in. We can see the all too familiar ups and downs with the cycles. Too bad he is going to be low for Father's Day. Greg, and all Dad's on this site...hold tight. I know that it is hard to get through these special occasions. Hold all of those close and wonderful memories dear to your heart as you make it through this coming weekend. Love to all. Kate

Kate, you and your husband are in my thoughts as he goes for another round of chem.

I agree Dee, please everyone stay safe. I just read that it could be straight winds at 240 mile per hour.

I have to work both jobs today and have tomorrow off. I hope you all have a good night.

This picture is a picture of the young boy that lost his life yesterday. This was a dance and he was not Cara's date but they were good friends. She has so many pictures of herself and friends.

[Jeff's Mom]

Well, I never! How did I manage that? I'm hopeless on this thing.

[ericasmom]

Home from my night class, still some lightning but the big winds and hail went south east of us and north east of us. I am hoping that everyone is safe.

Kate, you made me laugh, loved your phrasing, " well I never..."

My Aunt and Mom used to say that all the time.

I am sorry that the heaviness of the chemo treatments is settling in. I am saying some prayers for strength and healing.

Lora, what a gorgeous photo. How dear that they stood together as friends that evening and now, Cara is holding his hand as she guides him through this new time. She is so lovely, a knock-out.

I am glad for you to have the day to yourself tomorrow, and I pray that somehow you just feel her peace in your heart.

Sleep tight All,

[shellykut]

CARA - ON THIS, YOUR FIRST ANGELVERSARY, SNUGGLE UP CLOSE TO YOUR MAMA AND LET HER KNOW YOU ARE NEAR, ALWAYS ! Lora - holding you close in thought and prayer today.

[mysonrich]

Cara, I imagine that your soul floats freely in the same colors of your dress. Lora, she is a beautiful girl and I hope that the beauty that she is embraces your heart today and allows you to know she is near.

[ericasmom]

CARA

CARA

CARA

I call your name this day to let you know that we are all holding you and in doing so, we are holding your Momma and brothers as they find their way in this new day. And on this date that represents so sad a time, so huge a loss...I hope that you can surround them each and let them know the peace in your spirit, the constant love in your huge heart. Let them know that you walk alongside them in all that they do.

Lora, I hope that a rainbow, or a dragonfly, or a twinkle in the night sky, something that catches your eye and therefore your heart, lets you know that you are held by your ANGEL each and every day. Blessings and love on this first turn of a year.

[tobyfreefoot]

Lora, my heart is with you today. i am preparing for my 2nd anniversary. the picture of cara is so vibrant and beautiful. her spirit shows through and i hope it will come through to you today.

[lavaughn]

Lora, my heart is with you today. i am preparing for my 2nd anniversary. the picture of cara is so vibrant and beautiful. her spirit shows through and i hope it will come through to you today.

my so died 12/27/2012 while we were all on vacation from a sudden stroke. he had never been sick before, my friends and family want me to act normal, but I miss him so much

[lavaughn]

Lora, my heart is with you today. i am preparing for my 2nd anniversary. the picture of cara is so vibrant and beautiful. her spirit shows through and i hope it will come through to you today.

my son died from a sudden stroke at 29.. 12/27/2012 i cry so much and can't feel normal

[lavaughn]

Very beautiful....

how does hope come? my son died 12/27/2012 from a sudden stroke

[ericasmom]

Dearest Newbie,

we all wish we never had to meet another newbie, but here you are, and in time, there will be more newbies to which you will have some words of comfort and wisdom. This wisdom is the kind we never wanted, we all are here because we are heart broken with the loss of our Adult/teen children. Some of us have been here a long long time, our 10th anniversary is in July. Erica was 19 when her car was hit by an AMTRAK at a broken crossing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I stay here along with many others, to o offer support and an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on and to be a part of a family that understands the full brunt of grief.

There are many of us who in our grief found what you are now facing; people want you to be who you were before you lost your Precious Son. My words to them is; I am not that same person anymore, I am a Mom who lost a Child, I am missing a piece of me, I am aching and I am changed. I was changed when I became a Mom/Dad, I will always be changed from the birth, why would I not always be changed by their death?

As far as hope Newbie, it may not feel like it by coming here today, but you just took some steps inside of the realm of HOPE. What brought you here? The hope of finding solace in your grief.

Tell us more about your life and your Lovely Boy, don't worry about who we are, our names are many and you need not worry about remembering who said what at this point. Read and post whenever you want, as often as you want, we don't scare away when someone cries or screams and shouts the pain that is part of this great loss.

[JD's Mom, Becky]

Lora, My heart to you today, on this the first angelversary of your beautiful girl, Cara! May her spirit be so near to you, that you feel her breath and her arms around you.

[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[Jesse David & Taylor Mom]

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[Mermaid Tears]

Lora...I, too, woke this morning and you were on my mind...I have more to 'say' to you....but that will come later....my feet have not hit the ground in the same spot in 3 days....

Yes...all of us here have Hope to Hope again...

[mikesmomrs]

Lora...thinking of you today, and your beautiful Cara (Such a gorgeous young woman and looking so beautiful beside her friend...thank you for sharing the picture)...may she surround you with her sweet spirit and help to comfort you on this day of sad memories. I am so sorry about the young man. I am sure she has met him and is "showing him around."

[mikesmomrs]

KATE, thinking of you and hubby, and praying for a smooth road ahead. I hope he is feeling better from the chemo soon. How much more chemo does he have to do? Stay strong, and I know you are staying close to each other and living each day as it comes to you. sending love and strength to you both.