A Parent's Toughest Day

Let me preface this with my promise to be back with several book reviews. I have decided to stop putting it off, thinking that I need to do a detailed, in-depth review that will take too much time. No one probably reads past the first paragraph anyway!

This week presented me with one of my biggest challenges as a parent. A boy in my son's 7th grade class committed suicide. I struggled with how to react and what to say and shared it here:

Rites of Passage

The funeral was probably one of the hardest things I have done as a parent. My son asked me why I was crying and there were so many reasons...seeing the parents, seeing the middle school kids unable to fathom what has happened, hearing the strains of two beautiful songs played by a guitarist and thinking about all the missed opportunities that may have awaited Jordan as he grew up.

For that hour, there were no cell phones, no texting, no middle school posturing and no fidgeting. I admired the kids for their behavior, but wished that they could have spent that hour laughing with Jordan in the cafeteria or sitting around a table silently with everyone texting each other or whispering about who likes who. That, along with eye-rolling, is what middle school kids are supposed to do.

In sadness,

Di

Comments

[Miz Honey]

Yes,I understand how devastated you must be. As the mother of 3 kids I know that if something was to happen to one of my kid's classmates or the children of somebody at church I would react the same way..almost as if it was a member of my family.
Those poor parents deserve my prayers......

[fudgelady]

Oh, my....seventh grade...how awful! How is your son dealing with it? What kind of supports is the school offering for the kids, and do you think they are enough?

I don't know what Jordan's story was, but I do hope the district uses the chance to let kids and families know very clearly what help is available when a kid is going through depression, how parents, teachers, friends, etc., can be aware, etc. I've dealt with the "black dog" most of my life, and my heart goes out to these young people as yours does. What a huge blow to deal with so young!