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When
a child dies, and after the funeral is over, parents, relatives, and close
friends often don't know what to do with themselves. As the days pass
after the funeral, that seems to be when grieving parents feel their
despair the most. Yet, life, in its cruel way has gone on, and parents are
forced to try to figure out how to continue their lives without their
beloved child.
This
hit home to my community recently with the death of one of my son's best
friends, Kevin Hall. Kevin had a winning smile and friendly disposition
that appealed to everyone. He was 17 years old when his car ran into a
pond and killed him. The funeral is over, yet our grieving goes on, and
certainly the intense grieving of his parents and family.
So,
I decided to devote this week's column to grieving and healing resources
on the Net, a topic I've never covered in the past.
The
first site I found is an About.com site that deals with Death and Dying.
It offers a section on the loss of a child, with links to inspirational
stories, online support groups, e-mail lists, and even a link to a list of
symptoms a bereaved parent may experience following the loss of their
child. Many parents set up Web sites in memory of their child, which seems
to help them focus their energy and feelings of loss into something
productive, all in the name of their child. http://dying.about.com/cs/childloss/
For
those who have lost an infant, either before or after birth, the March of
Dimes has some free bereavement materials at their site: http://www.marchofdimes.com/loss/
Bereaved
Parents of the USA is an organization devoted to offering support to those
who have lost a child, with chapters
available nationwide. The organization also publishes a quarterly
newsletter called "A Journey Together."
http://www.bereavedparentsusa.org/
Another
site devoted to the devastation of losing a child is the Compassionate
Friends. In fact, on July 7, in conjunction with the national Walk to
Remember, walks will be held at 15 different locations across the country
in remembrance of lost children. To have a child's name remembered or to
make a donation, call toll free: 1-877-969-0010. Compassionate Friends
also has local chapters in various locations across the country. Through
Compassionate Friends, the second Sunday of December has been designated
as National Children's Memorial Day. You are invited to light a candle
from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 10th in remembrance of the
lives they lived.
http://www.compassionatefriends.com/
Finally,
with a feeling of great loss, this article is devoted to the memory of
Kevin Hall, who will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Kevin, you'll
never be forgotten.
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Robin
Nobles, Director of Training, Academy of Web Specialists, has trained
several thousand people in her online search engine marketing (http://www.academywebspecialists.com)
training programs. Visit the Academy's training site to learn more (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com).
She also teaches 3-day hands-on search engine marketing workshops in
locations across the globe with Search Engine Workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com).
Copyright
2002 Robin Nobles. All rights reserved. |
