Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Protecting our children

With all that's going on in our lives, I've been somewhat clueless to what's happening in other people's lives. I feel pretty disconnected from many friends, especially friends with children. I've been thinking about why that is...other than the obvious time constraint issues. Are people avoiding us? Are we avoiding them?

This all became clearer for me recently after a friend was telling me how the blogs Debra and I write are affecting her relationship with her daughter. After spending nearly all day with them, I began to ponder on the drive home how all this is going to effect the children in our lives. Since focusing so much energy on how Debra's death will effect Sofie, I do understand what other parents must be going through.

Some children have already experienced a death of a family member or someone close, but most have not. So I find myself wondering, "How will this be for kids that know Debra through church, school, friends, family?" I realize it's not our responsibility to make sure your children aren't traumatized. I just wanted to acknowledge that I know it's hard for you, too. At some point there will be a lot of kids who aren't going to know how to deal with the news they've heard. I know each one of you will do what's best for your child...as I will do what's best for mine.

For those with children reading this, I have a great article that I can share that's about helping children cope with grief and loss. A well laid out article. Let me know if you're interested. (cybrarygrl at gmail dot com)

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