Skip to main content

part 1: everything

I've been so angry with Enzo. Not a "you died" kind of mad. 
A "where the hell are the signs you promised me" kind of mad. 
He did say more than once he would haunt, send signs, do something to contact this realm if he "ever dies." I had no idea the breadth of those words.

So for months I've waited. For something. Anything. 

Nothing, and I mean nothing, ever showed. A specific song has played twice on the radio. That's it. 

That's it!?!?!?
I began to question it all. The adoption never actually happened. I have no proof of his incredible presence in our family, the connection we built, cried through, laughed through, grew into. I have pictures. That's all. 

Scrolling through the internet, I came across a reminder. A single word. One word. 

Serendipity. 
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. 

Enzo talked so passionately about Serendipity. He loved the idea, the concept. He connected events, circumstances, and things in every way he could. And told me about them. 

I don't have to have such clear and direct signs. Anything I need to be a sign, is. That's it. I don't care what anyone else thinks about what I consider to be a sign from my dead son. To NOT seek something, a form of communication, after such tremendous loss is a strange thing. 

Becoming emotional at the sunset, a song, a color, a place, an item: that's living with grief. The world tells grieving people "we don't like your grief so move on." Our sadness makes others uncomfortable so we hide it. 

Not me. I want the world to bear witness to my pain. Grief is the only thing I have left of him. So I will tell the world about it for the rest of my life. I honor his place in my heart by doing this. 
And I'll use everything as a sign he is still with me. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

part 3: the recipient

I didn't know how this would end when I began writing. I just knew I needed to pen my anger.  I had a lot of things I needed to get through: thoughts that take over my brain and I think about over and over. Knowing what I know about myself, I'm stuck here until I take the time to write it down. It's gonna be a lot. I need to write about what happened in the hours after his death, how I remember the last time I saw his face, what exactly I saw & how that April is sooooo separate from the April I am now. I've learned what that is: dissociation.  I've also realized I've used dissociation my entire life. I'm not ready to write about that yet. I need to write these facts down. Facts that sound a little too weird if you've never suffered the loss of a child. I have. So whatever I need is ok as long as it isn't harmful to me or anyone else.  In the middle of writing how angry I am about not having signs from my son, about this deep turmoil I'm addre...

the years that come after

It's not true what they say.  "The first year is the hardest."  That's so far from the truth.  My beloved friend and hair stylist lost her 14 year old son in a tragic gun accident 12 years ago.  Today, as I sat down in her chair I asked her "How long did it take you to enjoy the holiday season again?" In the middle of my question, my breath caught and burst into tears. She shared with me some things that are deeply private, but she did say it.  "The first year is not the hardest." That was exactly what I needed. It was permission. It was my acknowledgement.  I'm not crazy. I'm not losing my mind.  The first year isn't the hardest.  While there IS joy in my life, this year, the third Christmas without Enzo, has been more difficult than the others.  What do I do with that?  No one can answer that. Not even me. Moscato didn't work. Quiet doesn't work. Loud doesn't work.  Smiling doesn't work.  The only thing that HAS helped...

take a shower

Yesterday was two years.  I've taken a shower the evening of both anniversaries during the 10 minute window I believe Enzo pulled the trigger. It's the only place I feel safe from the clock. I can't stare at it. So sometime during my shower, the minute my son fired his gun comes and goes.  Or at least that's the plan. I miscalculated the time I was in the shower last night. When I looked at my phone, it was the exact minute he sent out the Tweet: "after careful consideration I have decided to exit the simulation. I love you all so much and I will see you in the next one." I hate 9:01 pm on February 28th. A jolt went thru my heart. I got out of the shower too soon. Unable to decide what to do, I stood there. I took my nightly medication. And stood there.  Shouldn't I be doing something? Some action at the moment my son took his life that would honor him? Something. Anything.  But I didn't. I stood there. Then I went to bed.  I've done a lot to honor...