The Thing About Grief
As adults, we understand death is an inevitable and natural part of life. Obviously, it doesn't make dealing with it any easier, but when your family loses someone integral and important, a person who has been in your childrens lives for their whole lives, it doesn't seem so natural anymore. Telling your children that their loved one they adore is dead has got to be one of the most gut wrenching and awful things you have to do as a parent. Explaining there are no more chances to chat, cuddle, learn from that person or just phone them up to see how they're doing feels wrong in every way. Death feels even more unfair when you have to explain it to a child. Their ability to live in the moment is obviously a wonderful gift but perhaps also a clever coping mechanism for a child faced with the reality of mortality. If you could get a little respite from grief in the wonder of a box full of toys, building a fort from cushions and duvets or bashing some pots ...