Childless at the Holidays

I remember the Christmas I spent as a family service counselor.  I had been reprimanded for not up selling a family who had just lost a loved one.  As a result, I was no longer given leads, so I was “park ranging”, but my heart was not in it.  I just could not bring myself to try to get a sale out of someone who was visiting the grave of a loved one.  I know that some in the industry might truly see “park ranging” as serving the family, but I just cannot see it that way.  Anyway, I was out “ranging” and finding no one to harass when I turned into the outdoor mausoleum.  I looked ahead and saw something I could not recognize adorning a tomb.  As I approached, I saw what it was.  It was a baby blue decoration that read, “Baby’s First Christmas.”  I can never go through the holidays without thinking about that little one and his family in that tomb.
 
I worked with other mothers at the cemetery who had lost a child.  When I’m in the area of the grave, I always visit a particular grave of a small one whose mother I worked with trying to make a new grave marker for him. In another section of the cemetery, other children lie buried.  Some were killed in a terrible accident that the community has never forgotten.  Families all around us have children missing from their tables this festive time of year.  Some families yearn to have a child, but for whatever reason, they remain childless. Grieving a child is something I think people never get over.  We all miss someone we love at this time of year, so take the time to be compassionate to others who grieve, especially those who grieve their children. We have entered that time of year where we are urged to put forth a little more love than usual.  Let us be loving to those we know are hurting terrible loss this year.  Let us try not to ignore the pain others might be feeling and open our hearts just a bit more.