We’re coming up to the third anniversary of Jessica’s death. This time of year is a tough one. This time three years ago, Jessica was already struggling with the viruses that ultimately caused her death. The memories looking back are intensely painful and come with a hefty side helping of guilt that I didn’t react… Read More
Grief has become part of my life now. It’s a constant presence in our everyday lives. Sometimes grief sits quietly in the background and we are almost able to forget that it is there. At other times, grief comes up and shouts in my face. It grabs my hands and forces me to dance with… Read More
This week (2nd – 8th December) is National Grief Awareness Week – a week which aims to normalise grief and get people talking about it. Many people feel uncomfortable around those who are grieving and it’s all too easy for grief to become a topic to avoid. I have always tried to be open when… Read More
Last Sunday was Jessica’s ninth birthday – the third birthday that we have had to mark without her. Special days, anniversaries and milestones are always very emotional days, but we try to find ways of remembering Jessica that allow for smiles as well as sadness. It is becoming a tradition now to mark Jessica’s birthday… Read More
Darling Jessica, Today is your ninth birthday. Nine years old. How grown-up that sounds. I wonder what you would be like at nine years old. What kind of things would you like doing, what books would you be reading, what would you have hoped to be opening in your birthday presents today? Today we would… Read More
The evenings are drawing in and summer is drawing to a close. As the days get shorter, the end-of-summer sadness descends. Autumn is nearly upon us. I know a lot of people love autumn. For me though, autumn is never welcomed. Autumn is thrust upon me no matter how much I’d love to hold it… Read More
One of the hardest things about living life without Jessica, is the merciless passing of time that takes us further and further away from our life with Jessica. Early on in this grief journey, I wrote that “time doesn’t heal, it hurts” and two years on from that, I still stand by that statement. Time… Read More