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Lament: A Cry of Sorrow and Grief

There is no more drama. No more life hanging in the balance. Nothing to report. Life goes on. I still hate every morning that I awaken to find that this nightmare I am living is real. That my beautiful son is still dead. I look over at the wall. There are two photo frames, they each hold graduation pictures, graduation announcements, and name cards that explain the meaning of the names "Nickolas" and "Sara." Every morning I have to look at those two frames and know that my daughter's life continues to move forward, while my son's is over. Living with memories is a great idea, but, it is basically a bunch of bullsh*t. YOU live with the memories! I want my son back. I know people must be tired of hearing all this by now. I really don't care. Please just stop reading and go away if that is the way you feel. I don't want to be told what I should do. Unless you have lost your child your opinion on my lamentation is not welcome here. I am doing the best I can. Maybe that is not good enough for some people who make judgements where they ought not. The struggle to continue on through each day of this life is hard enough. I will figure something out on my own timetable. Please don't accuse me of thinking I am alone in this misery, I know I am not; but, you, YOU, are not in here with me unless you have lost your child. The dues for this club are quite expensive and you do not want to join this club. Excuse me if I don't feel very positive right now. Positive is getting out of bed every day and facing a world that is empty without my son. Positive is living with the cowardice of living. Positive is trying to find comfort in butterflies and rainbows, and spinning tales of honor and memory and trying to pretend that this is somehow an OK replacement for my living and breathing son. Positive is biting my tongue when some insensitive person tries to tell me what I should be doing to move on, get over it, move past it, and generally act like it is all OK that Nickolas is gone forever. When your child dies it feels like you have just been sentenced to life in prison. Can anyone understand that? How long will it be before I can see my boy again? Will I ever see him again? What can I do to take away this pain? I have no answers, only tears and the endless days of longing to have my son back here where he belongs.

Edward Hirsch wrote the following in an article about grief entitled "To Go Its Way in Tears: Poems of Grief. "We live in a superficial, media-driven culture that often seems uncomfortable with true depths of feeling. Indeed, it seems as if our culture has become increasingly intolerant of that acute sorrow, that intense mental anguish and deep remorse which may be defined as grief. We want to medicate such sorrow away. We want to divide it into recognizable stages so that grief can be labeled, tamed, and put behind us. But poets have always celebrated grief as one of the deepest human emotions. To grieve is to lament, to mourn, to let sorrow inhabit one's very being." Below a poem written by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno.

Death Barged In

In his Russian greatcoat
slamming open the door
with an unpardonable bang,
and he has been here ever since.

He changes everything,
rearranges the furniture,
his hand hovers
by the phone;
he will answer now, he says;
he will be the answer.

Tonight he sits down to dinner
at the head of the table
as we eat, mute;
later, he climbs into bed
between us.

Even as I sit here,
he stands behind me
clamping two
colossal hands on my shoulders
and bends down
and whispers to my neck,
From now on,
you write about me.

Shave For The Brave

No More Birthdays Dearest Son

Nickolas should be here to celebrate his 28th birthday with his family, his friends, with his Mama, with his Papa, and his beautiful sister, Sara. Instead, Nick is not here. Nick is gone forever. I am at a loss to find a fitting way to celebrate this second birthday without my son, without our sweet Nickolas. No more cake, no more presents, no more birthday cards. I was in the card store the other day and I couldn't even look at the birthday cards for sons. My son will never have another birthday here in this earthly world. How will this hole in my heart, my life ever be filled? I have no answers. The longing to see my son, to have him come back home never ends. The pain is always with me. Below are the words I wrote to Nick on his 26th birthday in September of 2008. It seems so long ago...Nick was in the hospital recovering from his bone marrow transplant. We were so hopeful for a new beginning, little did we know the pain and suffering that was to come.

To my dearest Nickolas,

Where have the years gone?
It seems like only yesterday I first held you in my arms,
a bright-eyed, curious creature, my first-born, my son.

I will always look at you through a mother's eyes.
You will always be my baby.
I will always try to protect you from harm.
I will always feel horrible when I don't succeed.

I wish I could take this burden from you.
And still, I will be there for you always and forever.
No matter what may come our way.
You can lean on me for I am strong. I am your Mom.
Together, there is no obstacle we cannot move.

I will always love your beautiful face, your hazel eyes,
your big smile and your open heart.
You are a gentle and kind soul.
Your passion for life and adventure will carry you far.
Your compassion for others will guide your journey.
Your spirit is strong and will sustain you through this time.
I am so proud of you.

On this September 11th day, as you fight for a new beginning,
I think back to the miracle of life that was your birth.
Oh, to finally have you in my arms!
Your birthday was a day of joy and promised a future full of hope.

You have grown up into a wonderful man.
You have always been a loving son.
Know that I will love you always and forever.
Happy 26th Birthday, my beautiful son.

I miss you today just as I have missed you every moment of every day since you left this world. Please come home my sweet boy. I love you more than a wagon full of puppies. Mom

Land Of Tears

#1 -If you have not done so already, I am asking everyone to PLEASE make a donation to Max's Ring of Fire to show support for Max's Fun Run, which will be held on September 11th. I posted a version of the song "Ring of Fire" on my play list so you can sing along and think of Max and his family. If you need another inspirational and courageous story of Max and his family, please read the most recent post on Max's blog, written by Max's Dad, entitled, "The Night Max Went To Heaven."

#2 - Please go to this link and VOTE for "Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation" so they can win $250K from the Pepsi Refresh Project. When you click on the link the Arms Wide Open bar will appear. Click on "Vote for this idea." This will prompt you to fill out the needed sign-in information and then you can officially vote.

This money will be used to fund research for childhood cancer including neuroblastoma. You can vote once/day/email address. You must sign-in with each different email address. You may also vote once/day by texting 102653 TO PEPSI (73774). Voting will continue through the end of September.

#3 - I don't know how many more ways I can talk about how sad I am and how much I miss my sweet boy. Ever since the one year date has passed things have just been going from bad to worse. I am often frustrated, angry, sad, tired, unmotivated, easily agitated, indecisive, withdrawn, and anti-social. I have much I want to say but I am just too emotionally drained to find the energy to create something that truly says what I am feeling each and every day of this life without Nick. I cannot begin to explain how this feels in any real way. I am so scattered and unable to stay focused.

Nick's birthday will be here very soon. I cannot believe it will be one year since we all gathered at his memorial. I had a dream about Nick. It was very brief. I woke up and a while later as I lay in my bed, I suddenly realized I had had a dream and Nick was in the dream. I remember thinking to myself that he looked good, but, he was still so thin. But, the Nick in my dream wasn't when Nick had been sick. It seemed that it was more like when he was in high school. He came up to to me while I was talking to someone and he tapped me on the shoulder, as if to say, "Mom, I'm here." As I was dreaming I didn't process that I was "seeing Nick" and that I better get a good look at him and hug him. It wasn't like I was "OMG, it's Nick"....and I was all happy that I was able to see him and touch him in my dream. For some reason in the few dreams I have had of Nick, the idea that Nick is gone and now I am seeing him in a dream never computes. After I woke up and it was too late I realized all this and then I just cried.

It is such a secret place, the land of tears. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince