From the Normal Family by Edith Fraser
We were on Long Island the first week in July and visited the memorial and left flowers. The memorial shrubs and flowers continue to grow and they were blooming beautifully. The following is a poem/story that I first read in "Bereaved Parents USA" Vol. 23, Number 2, March/April 2002. It helped us, perhaps it will help others.
If you think you are going insane, THAT'S NORMAL
If all you can do is cry, THAT'S NORMAL
If you have trouble with the most minor decisions, THAT'S NORMAL
If you can't taste your food or have any semblance of an appetite, THAT'S NORMAL
If you have feelings of rage, denial, and depression, THAT'S NORMAL
If you find yourself enjoying a funny moment and immediately feeling guilty, THAT'S NORMAL
If your friends dwindle away and you feel like you have the plague, THAT'S NORMAL
If your blood boils and the hair in your nose curls when someone tells you, "It was God's will", THAT'S NORMAL
If you can't talk about, but can smash dishes, shred old phone books or kick the garbage can (preferably empty) down the lane, THAT'S NORMAL
If you can share your story, your feelings with an understanding listener -- another bereaved parents, THAT'S A BEGINNING
If you can get a glimmer of your child's life rather than his/her death, THAT'S WONDERFUL
If you can remember your child with a smile, THAT'S HEALING
If you find that mirrors have become windows and you are able to reach out to other bereaved parents, THAT'S GROWING.
- Submitted by Helen & Larry Siebert who lost their 2 daughters aboard TWA 800