This and That...

Last Sunday’s Memorial Day…yet another sad day for those who have died…this time in the military. They have given their lives for their country. We honor them and we mourn them. A wonderful organization called TAPS, out of Washington, D.C., is of great help to mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents and grandchildren, all of whom have different needs arising from a military death. I get their magazine, and it is chock full of wonderful stories on survival and moving on from both experts in the field and the survivors themselves. Summer camps and lots of activities are held for these families. If you have had a loved one die in the military, this is a group you definitely want to contact. Go to www.taps.org

Two interesting sites came across my desk this week I’d like to mention:
I received word of a friend’s 4-year-old niece who died from Leukemia. The family posted an online tribute with photos of their child. It was sent to me to look at. I thought they did a great job, and I realized that this type of memorial is definitely a wonderful way for the parents, relatives and friends to remember a beautiful person. I encourage you to look at the site. Perhaps this simple site can be of help to you or another bereaved parent you know or hear about, in addition to others I have mentioned in the past and will mention on future blogs. The site is http://tyleebarnes.homestead.com .

The other site was left on my blog as a comment from another bereaved parent. I had never heard of the organization, but went to the site and found it to have lots of information, tools for grieving parents, phone support, and a place to leave comments and messages. The site is www.mychildlossgrief.org . Their goal as they state it is (1) to bring members together for a retreat to promote wellness and facilitate healing through interactive workshops, speakers and relaxation, (2) to educate society about parental grief, including ways to support and respond appropriately to grieving parents, and (3) to education employers about parental grief and encourage them to offer more leniency toward their employed bereaved parents. I am not endorsing this site, just giving you information that you may find helpful.

A special note to Louise on that site who posted a comment on my blog: I’m so glad you enjoyed the poem. One day it just came out of me in a few minutes time. That’s the way those things happen. You have my permission to post the poem with my name that I put on my blog two weeks ago into your child grief loss forum as long as it is not used for commercial gain. I invite others to post any comments on my blog. If you want a response to your comments, leave your email address on your posting.