We Go On

This weekend we had the privilege of interacting with some members of another family who lost a child recently. Their loss was under much different circumstances, but there are similarities in the way we moms and dads feel.

After conversing for a few minutes about our experiences of sorrow and pain, we both moved on to other activities at the picnic we were attending. Times of grief flow into motion, a choice to continue and to participate in life.

And so we go on.

The alternative to going on is to simply stop. It is tempting sometimes when the heart wrenching reality of the gaping hole is yawning within us. When a child is lost, there is an empty space in our lives that refuses to be filled.

But... stopping living, breathing, experiencing life is not an option. Choosing not to live, not to embrace life despite the pain, is the same as choosing to die.

Our children would not want that for us.

So we continue. We pause, we remember, we reflect and feel. And then we gather our scattered heart strings from the four winds and we put one foot in front of the other and choose to live.

This is how we go on.

The view from our seats at an outdoor concert the other weekend. One of the many ways that we choose to go on without our daughter. It was a gorgeous day.