Written by Trudy Steele, a bereaved mother supported by Very Special Kids
Being a bereaved parent can be very draining and isolating. Participating in Bereaved Parent Weekends, allows you to feel every bit of emotion and lets you share stories of your child that passed away.
Being surrounded by support workers, volunteers and other bereaved parents makes you feel safe. You are not alone.
These weekends are as important as they allow every individual parents who is missing their child to feel surrounded by love and constant support.
I myself have been lucky to attend a few Bereaved Parents Weekends which allowed me to share how I am feeling at this stage of my grief.
Meeting new people and learning that my child and your child have met in a special place brings laughs of joy, happiness and sadness.
During this Bereaved Parents Weekends, I have been lucky enough to participate in music therapy, walks, massages and talks about self-care. And mainly the sharing of stories of our children. I had the chance to see how other parents deal with the different stages of grief that they currently feel.
How do bereaved parents cope with birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and just everyday life?
How do we tell other people about our children and how we take care of ourselves?
Bereaved Parents Weekends can lead to great friendships and knowing that other people are experiencing exactly what you are going through. It makes you feel less alone.
I know now that I have made new friends in our taboo world. Talking about it brings peace in our lives.
The effort that Very Special Kids goes to making sure that we, the bereaved parents, are not forgotten and all our children will forever be remembered, makes me feel comforted and very humble. Without Very Special Kids all of this would not be possible.
