GottaLoveMom

As a parent, your child is your world.  To lose a child is like losing your heart.  Today, my friends are marking the tenth anniversary of the death of their first born child, Nick.  I have been fortunate enough to get to know this family as our children have gone to school together for the past eight years.  I see them frequently at school, around town, and at social functions. They are always happy, very loving, and gracious.   One would not know the pain and sadness living in their hearts and souls. Nick Their first-born child, forever 2 1/2 years old, died from a tragic accident.  He pulled open the dresser drawer and was climbing the dresser.  His weight was too much for the piece of furniture and it tipped over on him.  I t takes very little weight to tip a dresser when the drawers are open.   He was asphyxiated; the weight of the dresser was too heavy to allow him to breathe.  Who would think...

We don’t really know what we’re missing until it’s been taken from us. We wake up every morning thinking that our soft and cozy bed will always be there waiting for us at the end of the day. There are things we take for granted because we never thought such things would cease to exist. To look up in the sky and see the sun shine and the stars at any hour of the day seems a constant gift that is always readily available – until you are not even allowed to step outside without barriers and restrictions. It’s important to keep one’s mind focused on the good in one’s life. To make the hours in a day seem shorter, writing about one’s day has always been therapeutic, especially when there’s no one there to talk to face to face. There are experiences that will fade and be forgotten. However, there are those that will always remain vividly in our hearts and minds… This is my brother's journal. He was only 13 years old when he first came to America. For almost 20 years, our...

Craig and I were sitting side by side on a bench in the middle of the American wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before I had met Craig a couple years earlier, I had not known such beauty existed. So the first time I visited the MET, I felt like a newborn learning new things about life – and about New York . We were colleagues turned best friends; that was how our relationship evolved. Within a year, our bond became more profound. Cupid really did a number on us! Still, when Craig asked, “Do you want to make it official?” I was astonished. The setting was perfect. I felt like I was dreaming. The atmosphere made me feel as if I had been placed in one of Claude Monet’s paintings. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon. Outside the room, the sky was clear and the leaves on the trees were a potpourri of colors – orange, green, red, burgundy and yellow – and it all added to the magic of that dreamy day. The sun’s rays illuminated the atrium. The open feel of the ro...

My friends who know my daughter and have had conversations with her call her an old soul.  At times, I feel like I am having a discussion with a 40-year old, not a 10-year old. At dinner recently, she claimed that being a kid was hard because she is not allowed to make the "big choices" in her life.  When asked by her dad what these "big choices" are, she responded that she would like to vote.   Yes, vote. For some of us, the opportunity to vote causes some apprehension.  I have always made it a policy not to discuss who I voted for and am very reluctant to discuss politics with anyone. I thought about this comment for a couple of days, mulling over how I could include her in this year's Presidential Election process.  After much consideration, I offered my vote to her, on the condition that she needs to watch the debates and research the candidates (with our help).  I wanted her to make an educated decision and explain to me ...

When I told my friends I was getting married and asked those who were overseas to come home for the wedding, there was no moment's hesitation on their part to say "yes". When I told a couple of them if we could get together when I had a chance to visit the States, they were only too happy to oblige. So when Jen asked me to guest write on her blog, it didn't take me even a second to say "yes". Good friends are not easy to find. You know, the ones who stay not only when things are well but also remain for the long haul. These are the kind of friends who we may not see everyday nor talk to regularly. We may even lose touch with them at some point for various reasons. But the bond remains as strong as the last conversation we had.  I'm lucky I have friends like these. None of us live in an airtight room where we have everything we need. Throughout our lives, we encounter many circumstances that are made easier, possible, or even better because of ...