Here are some reflections from my late night/early morning reading:
Jeremy Shaton wrote in a New York Times blog about bereaved parents: “So where am I now, 13 years after my 2½-year-old son, Jacob, died because of a brain tumor? One thing I can say is that my junk mail has no idea where I am. The other day I threw out yet another letter offering to give us advice on Jacob’s college career, as well as a solicitation to re-subscribe to Highlights magazine.”
Read his reflection about “high functioning bereaved parents” at http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/a-high-functioning-bereaved-parent
Have you experienced being a “high functioning bereaved parent”?
Farther Along 
Yes, our children are forever missed, and we just keep working for them in some way–whether it is a private remembrance or an outreach to someone else who is hurting after the loss of a child. I hope your reflective writing helps as it has helped the moms in our group.
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Even after all these years, sometimes I feel like I am a “high-functioning bereaved parent” and sometimes I feel like I just function. I get up and do what I have to do every day; I’m not sure I’ve reached the “thrive” point…some days it feels like I’ve had too many losses. I will forever miss my boy…
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Yes, Carol, exactly!
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Jeremy Shaton writes that he has “the privilege of being the executive director of Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund and working every day to improve the lives of children with cancer alongside the staff of the Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center. Among bereaved parents, I consider myself very lucky that I get to work for Jacob every day.”
We, the Farther Along mothers, are lucky too. Through our symposia and workshops, we get to work with other bereaved parents, showing them that through writing they can explore their feelings, on the page, and produce healing shifts in perspective–restorative reflections. They can create written legacies to their children, keep in touch.
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