“She looked up at me, blinked twice, and then visibly melted. Tears started streaming.”
By LJ Herman -
‘This 3-year-old was kicking and screaming and flopping around. ‘Say something kind to her,’ I thought. But then I thought, ‘No, it’s none of your business. LEAVE THE POOR STRANGER ALONE.”
By LJ Herman -
‘We surprised mom and dad with someone they love. She wasn’t looking at him, but she was smiling. She was giggling. And then it happened – she started humming.’
“We were beside ourselves with the happiness he was bringing her and how she was letting him, and all of us know, she knew he was there. She knew who he was. We soaked it in, knowing it all may be fleeting.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I remember our first marital therapy session vividly. I sat separated from Ryan and the tension between us felt so strong. We were two hurting people only hurting each other.’
“I had so much I wanted to say to Ryan, many things that I had said to him before, but saying them in front of someone felt like they would be heard. But that day my heart ultimately exploded, literally, in the form of tears and anger.”
By LJ Herman -
‘My doctor treated me like I was a drug addict for asking for a prescription. ‘Don’t ever ask me for this again. I won’t keep giving it to you.’ I walked away feeling like I needed to shut up and deal with my anxiety on my own.’
“No one else was breaking down in tears, so I assumed I was the only one struggling.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘People joke about having an out-of-body experience, but it truly was.’ Brothers surprise bride with father-daughter dance from dad in heaven to Michael Bolton song, he responds
“My name is Dave West and I’m Kaley’s dad, and I love her very much. 1,800 times worth,” the voice of their late father can be heard at the beginning of the song.
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I asked my 95-year-old grandfather to dance with me. I have never seen him smile so big in my life. I wanted to live in this moment forever.’
“When my grandfather saw my tears, he asked me why I was crying.”
By Eliza Murphy -
The dementia is taking her away. He leans in to kiss her. Ever so quietly I hear her say, ‘I love you,’ before staring into a place only she can see.
“‘Is she OK? Who is watching her?’ Who could possibly love her like he does, to know what being apart is doing to his heart? He doesn’t understand why no one will listen. Why no one realizes how much she needs him, and more importantly, how much he needs her.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘Oh by the way – you’re going to meet your wife today.’ It was clear she did not want to talk to me. I went to bed that night and had a dream I was at my wedding. I was marrying this girl.
“A few nights later, I had a dream – it was just Kyle’s face. I woke up frustrated why this man I didn’t even know, who was in a relationship, was so clearly impressed in my mind.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘In one swift moment, I will be forced to let go. I will loosen the white-knuckle grip on my son’s childhood, and let him go.’
“Today, after an emotional tantrum, my 5-year-old son curled up in my lap and buried his head in the crook of my neck. I felt his pain and sadness laying over me in a blanket of emotions, and I found myself crying too.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘There is nothing normal about cemetery shopping for your baby. My daughter gasped, ‘Mama, it’s beautiful! Look at all the flowers.’ I saw no beauty.’
“At the time I didn’t understand why losing my daughter was a part of my story. It seemed so unfair and cruel. Only when I found the courage to no longer focus on my pain, but instead put my energy towards others, did I find meaning in my loss.”
By Eliza Murphy -
