two years without him
People are kind. It’s easy to focus on all the wrong things folks may say, or those who now avoid you after such terrible loss, or those who just want you to hurry up and get better. All of that pales in comparison to the kindness that envelopes me, and for that I...
the launching of live like tyler
Other than the reality of grief, there’s another reality I’ve been living with for nearly two years now: a vision is more easily perfected in your mind than it is implemented. I’ve mentioned before that wonderful friends purchased several web domains shortly after...
reflections on christmas
Avoidance. Escape. Distraction. These have been our coping strategies for managing the Christmas season since losing Tyler. Ron and I have wondered if perhaps it would have been a blessing in disguise to have had other children still living at home to force us to...
happy 17th birthday
Today I am overwhelmed with gratitude. October 18th will never be just another date on the calendar for me; it will always mark Tyler's grand entrance into our world. And on this day, 17 years later, I cannot celebrate with Tyler in the flesh, but I can celebrate him...
eighteen months
Sweet Boy, September 29th. One and a half years. Eighteen months. Seventy-eight weeks. I know you well and know that you would tell me to stop being sad. I can no more stop the sadness than I can stop breathing. Do you know what I hate the most about grieving, Tyler?...
costa rica missions trip
Back in November, I posted that I’d accepted an invitation to participate as a team member on Tyler’s school’s Costa Rica missions trip – the same trip Tyler went on four months before his diagnosis of leukemia. Tyler had planned to return the following year, but...
one year
Dear Tyler, It's been one year since I saw you. Since I touched you. It's been even longer than one year since you smiled at me. Since you spoke to me. Since you hugged me. Since you laughed at me. Since you told me you loved me. That's what hurts so much - your...
comfort in grief
These first two weeks of February have been bleaker for me than any other time since Tyler’s death. The trauma of remembering what Tyler suffered these first fourteen days of February grips me not just emotionally, but also physically. I feel like I could shatter at...
hope shines bright
Since we couldn't mail out Christmas cards to everyone who has followed Tyler's journey, we wanted to share our 2012 card and newsletter via CaringBridge. The artwork on the card displays a portion of a mural painted by Tyler's classmates at Chapelgate. In a beautiful...