This is a Sad Day

As we get older our years are peppered with happy days and sad days.

My wife keeps a diary of birthdays. In it she also records the days that people we knew died. When we check the diary to see whose birthday we need to remember we can stop for a moment and reflect on someone's passing.

It is that time of year again. The time that makes it seem as though everything revolves around today's date. As I approach it I know to hold back the tears but I know that I could cry forever if I let myself.

On this day in 1996 our son died. I have already marked his birth day although I did not mention the significance of it at the time. He was 22 on 14th July 1996. By the afternoon of 24th July 1996 we had to face the knowledge that he had died.

I could not blip today without it being a blip of remembrance. Others here are very open so I needed to be as well.

Parenting is hard even at the best of times.

This date passes and I know that I need to count my blessings. Life goes on. There are still hard days but there are fun days, there are happy days and there are coping days. There is so much for which to be thankful.

Parenting is also a joy which is brought to mind by this image of our son's well-worn rabbit, passed on from a cousin, which he called "Yabbit".