For me, the birthday is the hardest. I imagine what he’d be doing at the same time his picture has not aged and he is forever frozen at age 20. His friends have moved forward, graduated from college, gotten jobs, gotten married. He turns a year older to our family but the day is not preceded with the typical Charles banter of what kind of celebration we are going to have on his big day.
Happy birthday my love. You would have been 21 today, April 26, 2016. I will carry you in my heart forever.
I am an emotionally naked TEDx speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to substance use disorder and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, coping strategies/resilience, and grief.
As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory.
Professional Speaker Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.
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