Over the past 2 and ½ years since we lost Vivienne, I’ve
made many friends and found many resources in the loss community. On my
Facebook newsfeed, there are posts from friends and pictures of everyone’s
children, with articles and commentary about infertility and infant loss
interspersed throughout. It makes for an interesting daily read on the world.
Lately, I feel like I’ve been encountering a lot of stories
about people being told that their grief is wrong, unhealthy, or even worse, a
sign of mental illness. Every time I see one of these stories, I feel a sense
of shock. How could anyone look at a grieving parent, at any point over their
lifetime, and tell them that they shouldn’t remember their child? I can’t
imagine anyone ever saying that.
And then I realize, the reason I can’t imagine it is that no
one has ever said this to me. Having heard so many friends talk about it and after reading so many articles, I spent a while waiting for someone to tell me
it was time to move on. But, no one ever did. Even after pouring out the most
vulnerable and sensitive parts of my soul in this blog, I still never heard the
words “you have to let go and move on.” Not once.
Generally speaking, the responses I have received to this blog have
been positive. People tell me how it helps them feel understood (even on topics
other than losing a child) and how they appreciate me writing so they can
understand what we’re going through. There is a large contingent who have never
said anything to me about it, and that’s OK. Maybe they are the ones who think
it’s time for me to “get over it” and “move on” but at least they have the
courtesy not to actually say that directly to me.
So, I guess what I’m actually trying to do here is to say
thank you. Thank you for reading, for trying to understand, and for your
positive and supportive comments. I feel lucky to be surrounded by people who
don’t question how I travel the road I was forced onto. You probably think it’s
nothing, but I have many friends who would disagree.
I don’t know where our journey will take us. I don’t know if
I’ll keep writing in this blog or not. It’s not that this part of my life is
over – remembering and grieving for my daughter is something I’ll do for the
rest of my life. But it felt like a thank you needed to be said to those of you
who have read and provided comments and notes of love and support over the past
few years. Who knows where we go from here, but I do know that no matter what,
we have a crew of wonderful people supporting us and rooting for us. And you’ll
never know how much we appreciate that.
