Have you ever lost a loved one?

Sorry to hear of your loss. I lost my father the day before my 14th birthday - that was in 1972. Although it has got easier, I do still miss him and all the things that I never had chance to do with him. He never saw me married, or his grandchildren; he never saw me as an adult in the working world. I still look for him in the street from time to time - it is as if he will turn up again sometime - silly I know, but there you are. My mother never remarried, and is now 82 years old. She went on to lead a very full life after my father passed away, doing a lot of voluntary work with groups for young people, and when my brother joined the Army, she travelled to wherever he was in the world to visit. She was, and still is, a very positive person, and I feel that this is what helped us all through our difficult time. Good luck to you and your family. You will always have your memories, and they should be treasured.

I am actually really sorry to hear about your loss. I know that only time heals the wound of a lost one. Years ago, I lost my grandmother to cancer and a couple of years after that I lost my grandfather during Christmastime. So every Christmas I know have the reminder that I had lost two people in my life that meant so much to me. It is definitely not easy to pick yourself up after the loss of a loved one but this is the way life is. I just kept telling myself that they are both in a better place and aren't suffering anymore and that is something that helped ease things a bit. I also got a lot of comfort and support from close friends and family members.

I lost my infant son almost 11 years ago. He was only 5 weeks old. It gets easier to cope with over time, but I can still remember everything like it was yesterday. I attribute my ability to move forward to God. He gave me a son who is older thab my baby was. I had to learn to move forward for him, and his youger siblings after they were born. I went through a few days, right after he passed where I was basically a crying vegetable. I wouldn't talk, I wouldn't eat, I would only move if I absolutely had to. Then, I looked over at my oldest son and thought, "I have to be here for him, he is so young, (only 14 months at the time) he needs me to be strong for him. At that point, I decided that I was going to make the choice to accept that God took my baby for a reason. I could either live my life and raise my oldest son, or I could dwell on it, wish it weren't as it was, and allow my grief to totally consume me. I took it day by day, and I think about him all of the time, but, I have learned how to go on living. My advice to anyone who has sufferred a loss is to take things slow, but always move forward. You cannot change what is, but you can work on what is and what will be.