When life becomes a little overwhelming, and the past threatens to interrupt the peace of the present, I go for a walk. I was on such a walk when I saw a tree stretching right across the path. It must have fallen many, many years ago: the ground is settled, and the earth has built […]
Grief
Today
I spend most of my life with sadness buttoned up inside me, a scarf wound tightly around the lump in my throat. When sorrow seeps out through the gaps I add more buttons, another layer, another piece of armour. But it’s a tenacious beast, grief. It won’t be quietened, it won’t give up. Some days […]
Where children lie
The churchyard is still and quiet, no matter what time of the year I visit. The church sits squarely in the centre, its heavy oak doors never locked, and few sounds to interrupt those seeking sanctuary. A cobbled path meanders through the churchyard, between ancient chest tombs and gravestones too weather-worn to read. Years ago […]
Imagine
Imagine you had a son who died. I know – you don’t want to. Of course you don’t. Why would you? But walk in my shoes, just for a moment. Imagine your son died. Imagine that the days and weeks which followed were marked by rising panic which choked the words in your throat until […]
The hardest choice
We make many choices in life; some simple and some far-reaching, but perhaps none as hard as the decision between life and death. Two years ago I was asked to make that decision on behalf of my son, who was five weeks old. He had fought meningitis and suffered permanent brain damage. He was […]