Saturday, May 29, 2010

Holidays and Summer

This Memorial Day weekend signals the start of summer for many people. It also means many children are out of school. It is a time of vacations and swimming pool accidents.

Assign someone to watch the swimming pool to insure no children drown. Drink responsibly and do not drive while drinking. Do not ride with drunk drivers. Watch for children playing in the streets. It only takes a few minutes to end a life or to change a lifetime.

Have a safe and sane Holiday and Summer!

Until next time,
Alice

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Birthdays and Orphaned Adults

It is my Birthday. I do not feel as if I am getting old, but my body does not lie. I am often asked if I would want to relive my life. I do not have to think for one second. Absolutely not! Life has been hard. I have learned a lot. Much of it too late to do me any real good, but maybe I can share some of the things I have learned and make life easier for someone else. That is not the way it really works. It seems each of us must make our own mistakes and stumbles throughout life.

I have dealt with a variety of topics this week. The most persistent one was adults who lost their last parent to death. Most of us expect our parents to die within our lifetime, yet when it happens, we are suddenly lost little children---orphaned adults. Everything changes-relationships with other family members, strange feelings and emotions within our being, our identity, and our role within the family. This is true even when the family has been estranged for many years. Many families never make peace with each other and death erases the chance. Sometimes the heavy burden of guilt takes over, making life that much harder.

It seems strange to me that it was 1999 before a book was published on the subject. It is The Orphaned Adult: Understanding and Coping with Grief and Change After the Death of Our Parents by Alexander Levy. It is worth a read even if you still have your parents because the chances are you will become an orphaned adult.

Until next time,
Alice

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Happy Mother’s Day to All

My wish for each mother and single parent dad is to receive a card with this message on it. “Dear Mom,If I could only give you one thing, it would be the ability to see yourself through the eyes of others, then you would see how special you truly are. Love your son.” The signature was not my son but a friend of his.

I could hardly see through the tears to walk back to work. Once again I realized how important a few well-chosen words could be to a person. Please no matter how young or old you are, say or better yet, write a few words of love and appreciation to the person or persons who have been important in your life. Many single parent dads get a Mother’s Day card as well as a Father’s Day card every year.

I am getting over some kind of flu-bug so until next time,
Alice