WIDOW A wife that loses a husband.
WIDOWER A husband that loses a wife.
ORPHAN A child that loses their parents.
UNKNOWN There is no word for a parent that loses a child…
That is how unfathomable it is.
Things will be raw…
Hard to read for some.
Frowned upon by others.
But comforting to those struggling with grief and need to be reminded.
It is ok to not be ok.
‘Things will get easier in time.’
Before our son passed away, this was something I was open to accepting. My dad unexpectedly passed away in 2018. I was crushed. As months went by and turned into years, I felt less and less heavy over the hole I had in my heart. Or so I thought.
I never knew a person was capable of putting grief on hold.
My everyday life was already consumed with such a heavy unknown situation, I found myself prioritizing my emotions or grief. The day we lost our son, the realization was all too crushing. The hole I thought was slowly healing was still very present and now more raw. The continuous change in our sons’ condition required clear and level thinking. Therefore, without even knowing it, I put my grief on hold.
My son was my grief placeholder.
I have now lost my placeholder….
And then grief hit two-fold.
- Lindsey Terling (Mother of Austin Terling)
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