All posts by Carolyn Barrett

A Mother Never Forgets

It was a beautiful, sunny spring day when I gave birth to a stillborn boy on May 14th, 1983. I can remember it like it was yesterday. He was 6lbs 1oz, and there was nothing wrong with him. His passing was attributed to a cord accident.

I am telling you this for one reason. To acknowledge him- that he was alive, that he existed and was loved.

Back then, doctors and nurses weren’t trained in how to handle such losses. I was pretty much left alone in my grief. There were no pictures taken, no family surrounding me in the hospital, no one holding him and getting to know him. Continue reading A Mother Never Forgets

Letter To My Friend

My dear friend,

It’s so hard to believe you’re gone. It wasn’t unexpected, and yet it was. Because you fought so long and hard, it seemed this day would never come. And yet it has.

My mind tells me to be happy your suffering is over and I am. I truly am. But my heart selfishly wants you here, to share in the life we are still traveling through.

When I heard you didn’t have much time left, I felt an odd sense of peace and relief. Your struggle was about to end, and you would head to the next life. The one where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more tears. But once you were gone? My own tears began to flow. Continue reading Letter To My Friend

I Got Inked!

Yes. That’s right.  Me. The girl who adamantly stated she would never get a tattoo. And now I’m sporting one on my left ankle.

It’s not my fault. Really it’s not. Some crazy person (lol) in our extended family decided it was the perfect gift for my older daughters and me. On Christmas Day he handed us a gift bag which contained temporary tattoos and announced that we had an appointment scheduled the following Friday. This gave us four days to decide what we wanted to get.

Um….what? Huh?  Did I hear you correctly?

I shot a quick glance at my husband. He was smiling, the kind of smile that’s teetering on the edge of laughter. Turns out, the crazy one had garnered his “permission” of sorts, and he was quite amused by this whole scene. So, he was certainly no help in getting me out of this one. Continue reading I Got Inked!