Death of a Parent

Antoinetta – Things that help when struggling

Antoinetta talks about the first time she learned that it was ok that she was grieving and how to unpack all her feelings

Hope – Waves of grief

Hope talks about the loss of her father and how grief comes in waves and how a therapist helped her understand that she had pushed her emotions down

Kim – Checking in is very important

Kim explains why it is so important to check in and keep in touch with people who have lost

Lisa -Advice to grievers

Lisa explains her thoughts about how to help someone in grief

Bryan – Vulnerability

Bryan talks about things are not always OK and that’s OK and things are going to get better

Jackie – Finger painting and grief

Jackie discusses how finger painting help her with her feelings while she was grieving the loss of her mother and sister

Karyn and Aidan – Our story 2

Karyn and Aidan – Aidan tells the story leading up to John’s death during the pandemic

Maureen – “Unresolved conflicts”

Maureen shares about her Dad, anger, love and some tools to manage unresolved conflicts.

Matt – Telling my young son

Matt describes the death of his birth mother to his young son.

Reflections on Mother’s Day

Mother’s day is a holiday where we show appreciation and care for the maternal roles in our lives. However, this holiday can feel very overwhelming for those of us who are grieving the death of a mother figure, a mother grieving their child, or those of us grieving the loss of not being able to become mothers ourselves.

Keeping Records

I pulled the photos out of their envelope one at a time, turning over each one to carefully record the date, place, and people in the photo. Sometimes, I included comments. “Apple picking in Hamilton with Pop Pop, Fall, 2023. You loved the wagon ride!”. I slipped each picture into an empty pocket in my son’s photo album.

Hope – My Story

Hope tells the story of her father’s death and how it affected her and her family