14 parents came to our January meeting and we welcomed one new mum. We started the meeting with  a reading by Angela Miller who reflected on her feelings about a New Year. New Year is a moment when one makes resolutions and changes in life. She expresses the painful reality that another year is ahead without the child. She writes:

I cannot say ‘Happy New Year’ anymore. It is simply one more painful reminder that I could do without, one more slap in the face, that it’s been another year three hundred and sixty five days of ‘living’ without you.

Parents could relate to what she said and discussion took place on how difficult those ‘celebrations’ are. Most of the parents felt that New Year is almost harder than Christmas.

The constant pain a parent experiences is part of their life and it does not get better – parents just learn better how to cope with it.

One parent in anticipation of his child’s 4th death Anniversary  expressed his sadness and pain, which has not changed, but felt that this year, finally, he could celebrate his child’s life and almost had a peace around him.

Sharing each others thoughts, despair and pain gave them the feeling that they were not alone .

Our next meeting is

Thursday 15th February – 7.30 at 

The Peartree Centre, 1 Chadds Lane, Peartree Bridge, MK6 3EB

Any bereaved parent is welcome, don’t hesitate to contact us beforehand.

We are waiting for a date from Woburn Abby staff for our annual Snowdrop planting event. It will be on the Blog once we hear from them.