Top three things I learned on our first vacation since our child's death: 1. Grief doesn't take a vacation! 2. Your loved is with you no matter how far you travel. 3. It's OK to be sad -- even in paradise. Last week our family went on vacation. We sailed away on a massive cruise ship to visit Puerto Rico, Dominican, Bahamas and St. Thomas. For seven days I was away from reality. I was away from all the photographs of our past family vacations with Xavier. I was away from his urn boldly displayed in our living room. I was away from his room filled with his toys, his costumes and his bed where I cuddled up next to him and kissed him one last time before he stopped breathing. For one week, I was away from the daily reminders of the trauma our family has endured - and the emptiness of a home where only one of my children now lives. While I basked in the sunshine as we sailed thousands of miles across the ocean blue escaping from the everyday s
A journal of my life and the stories of those around me. A novel in the making.