The day after my birthday, I decided to go through Coen’s chifforobe. Since he is six years old now, it was time to give him some independence. While going through it, I came across the folder we received from the hospital when he was born. I read over the paperwork, and it brought tears to my eyes. My only child here on earth is no longer a baby. After looking at all the information in the folder, I closed it and saw another Lafayette General folder underneath.

If you've ever experienced depression, you know how hard it can be to get out of bed in the morning. It can be even harder to go on with your life during a period of loss or mourning—but you must. You're stronger than you think! I know this because I've been there myself and lived to tell the tale.

Those words are hard to hear.

For Cayse’s second anniversary, we received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my in-laws. When I received the flowers, my eyes caught the beautiful butterfly in the bouquet.

I am a daddy’s girl. I am very close to my dad. We share the same birthday, and my little Saint’s middle name is after my dad’s. My father and I share such a special bond, so I am struggling with his recent health problems.

In the aftermath of loss, it is so important for families to remember their children. Although their lives were brief, we honor them and give their life the dignity it deserves. We hold onto every moment we have with them. A few ways to honor their memory are listed below.

It's easy to feel hopeless when life doesn't go as planned. Whether it's a relationship gone sour or the loss of a loved one, we all have our moments when hope seems hard to find. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817) Here are seven tips for finding hope in even the bleakest of circumstances:

Grief is a long and painful process. People who are grieving are often told that the first year of grief is the hardest, but I think the second year of grief can be just as difficult, if not more so. This isn’t talked about enough!

When you have those hard days, it's okay to feel that way. You don't have to be strong all the time. No matter how long it has been since your child died, it is okay to cry, get angry, or feel like you've lost your best friend. That's what grief is for— to help us process our terrible and traumatic loss. It's not something we can avoid forever, but it is something that we will learn to carry and will, eventually, make room for a new chapter in your story.

Grief is a part of life and a part of love, but it doesn't have to take over your life. If you are feeling alone or lonely, reach out to someone close to you who will listen and care about what you have to say.

I've written about my experience with the death of my son. I know that I'm not alone and that others have had similar experiences, but it's still difficult to find ways to cope with the loss. Recently, as part of my healing process, I've been learning more about grief and understanding what goes on in my mind on the hard days so I can move forward after my loss. I am learning about the many stages of grief you might go through after losing someone close to you, including denial and anger. However, there is hope for healing if you're willing to take time for yourself as well as reach out for professional help when needed.

The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It's important to note that the stages of grief are not linear and can occur in any order. Additionally, people often go through each stage more than once, and may reoccur at different times in their lives.

A vow is a sacred promise made to God. The vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are traditional for all priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Vows can be either public or private.

We all want to feel like we are in control of our lives. We have dreams, goals, and plans that we work towards, and then there is life itself. Life has a way of knocking us off track when we least expect it, and often the hardest challenge is how to get back on track after something traumatic happens. When someone close to you dies or leaves, there can be many emotions, including sadness, anger, guilt, blame, and confusion about why it happened or who was at fault. These emotions make us feel stuck in our grief because we keep going over what happened instead of moving forward with our lives.

When we are grieving, the activities of our daily life can feel beyond us. Our mind and body can be easily overwhelmed, and we may find that we need help when we never did before.

It's hard to believe that a person can go through so much pain and still keep on living. But that's what grief does to you: it makes you stronger, even if only in small ways. Grief hurts your body as well as your mind, though. If you're going through something similar, here are some common side effects of grief on the body:

One of the most painful parts of grief is loneliness. No matter how many people are in our lives, missing our son makes the whole world seem empty. No one can replace our son. Even if we have another child, we will still miss Cayse. This is why grief lasts, and in some way loneliness, too, for the rest of our lives. Accepting this loneliness is part of who we are. I think of my loneliness of my son as a way of keeping a space for him. It is a way of honoring the love we had.

Why does grief make you angry?

This is a question many people ask when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one. In this post, we will take a look at some of the reasons why grief makes people angry.

Grief is a complicated, often confusing emotion. It can take over your life and make you feel like yourself in ways that are both heartbreaking and beautiful. It's normal to mourn the passing of someone you love—but it's also normal for people who aren't grieving themselves to be confused about what to say or do around those who are. Here are some things not to say if you're trying not to upset someone whose loved ones have passed away:

"Love endures forever."

This beautiful quote is carved on the wall of a chapel at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was an American saint and the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. She was also a wife and mother who was once widowed with five surviving children. One of those surviving children, Anna Maria, died soon after her mother's death. Before her own untimely death, Anna Maria had written to her sister: "We are but travelers here; let us help each other on our journey."