Today I am grateful for being sent new photos of Charles I had never seen before. I know they are not smiling pics but it doesn’t matter. It shows his melancholy side, that which he rarely revealed to us. I discovered these on an old device so they are intimate photos I don’t think anyone else ever saw.
Once I posted one of these new photos and stated how parents who’ve lost a child are so thrilled to get any new photos, it reminded an old neighbor to share photos of Charles on a fishing trip with his brother and friend, Kevin. So I probably got 12 “new” photos which are not something I expected 7.5 years after his death.
These pictures are definitely a gift for which I am grateful on day #3 of the #thegratefulproject.
I am an emotionally naked mental health 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 addiction 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 mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, 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.
Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.
View all posts by Anne Moss Rogers
4 thoughts on “What am I grateful for? Day #3”
Reading this post made me so happy!!! For many years, as time has allowed, I have been collecting, sorting, scanning and sharing photos with family and friends. This week I shared hundreds with my maternal family in a private fb group. The reception has been so heartwarming. Every time I share a group of pictures someone will excitedly comment that I’ve shown them a photo they had never before seen of a loved one who is no longer with us. After losing my father in 2019 I understand that excitement and how rare it is to have happen. That alone is enough to keep me working on this seemingly never ending photo project.
That truly is a gift. There have been a couple of times, in the past 8 years since Daniel died, that someone reached out to me unexpectedly and told me stories about Daniel or shared their own success stories. It is a gift.
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Reading this post made me so happy!!! For many years, as time has allowed, I have been collecting, sorting, scanning and sharing photos with family and friends. This week I shared hundreds with my maternal family in a private fb group. The reception has been so heartwarming. Every time I share a group of pictures someone will excitedly comment that I’ve shown them a photo they had never before seen of a loved one who is no longer with us. After losing my father in 2019 I understand that excitement and how rare it is to have happen. That alone is enough to keep me working on this seemingly never ending photo project.
I’m so glad it made you happy. Thank you for sharing your photos and your story here Sandra.
Anne,
That truly is a gift. There have been a couple of times, in the past 8 years since Daniel died, that someone reached out to me unexpectedly and told me stories about Daniel or shared their own success stories. It is a gift.
That’s exactly what I am talking about. I feel so buoyed by it. I write them down and savor them. The stories, the pictures. Thank you Teri.