Grief Is A Journey

Remembering My Son, 11 Years After

2009-06-02T22:27:00.000+08:00

I still find myself smiling wistfully everytime I see a new dinosaur book on display at the bookstore. Part of me wants to grab the book, purchase it and bring it home to include it among your things that are kept in a cabinet close to my work desk at home.Eleven years later, I don't cry as much and I can talk about you now without having to shed a tear, remembering you with smiles more than with

Helping Children Grieve

2009-05-14T16:36:00.000+08:00

He seems okay on the surface. He or she has high grades, continues to play, and does not exhibit any outward manifestations of sadness. Children grieve differently than adults and so we often mistakenly assume that everything is okay and they aren't grieving at all.A child's grief is masked because it looks differently than what we are used to seeing in adults and older kids. Kids grieve in small

When Grief Comes Full Circle

2009-05-03T09:36:00.001+08:00

“There are two ways to live; one is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.” - Albert EinsteinSan Francisco, California --- Sometimes you never know where the road leads.I’ve been in the U.S. for the last two weeks, primarily, to attend a conference on death and bereavement and take grief therapy classes in Dallas, Texas and now, I have found my way to San

The Aftermath of Losing Amiel Alcantara

2009-03-01T11:00:00.000+08:00

ADDENDUM: It is also important for the children of Theresa Torres to get the help that they need and we pray that the family recognizes and realizes this. It may be in their best interest to be moved to a different school or city lest they be crucified by less kinder members of the community. They are children and need to be protected too.Many parents have come forwarded and written about their

Fly High! Bidding Amiel Good-bye

2009-02-28T20:23:00.000+08:00

Even grown men cry.At 11:30 AM today, the Chapel of the Holy Angels at the Ateneo de Manila University Grade School was filled to the rafters as members of his family, friends and the school community bid Amiel Alcantara good-bye in a mass that was concelebrated by university president, Fr. Ben Nebres, and Fr. Kit Bautista, grade school headmaster.In a tribute to his youngest brother, Avie

Special Report On Amiel Alcantara

2009-02-28T09:28:00.000+08:00

GMA-7 News came over yesterday to get my thoughts on Amiel's passing. In this video also is my friend, Noemi Dado who founded The Compassionate Friends where we are co-founders as well. Amiel's story is one that has riveted every parent because his death shakes every parent's heart to the core. Later today he will finally be laid to rest. The saddest part of the grief journey is when everyone has

Losing Amiel Alcantara - An Update

2009-02-26T01:21:00.000+08:00

My heart is heavier now than it was earlier today when I started to piece together what had happenned to Amiel Alcantara, the Ateneo fourth grader who was hit by a CRV at the Ateneo de Manila grade school parking lot yesterday afternoon.My husband and I have just returned from his wake and I am shocked, stunned and restless over the circumstances surrounding his death. The Alcantara's actually

Prayers For Amiel Alcantara, Ateneo Grade School Parking Lot Accident Victim

2009-02-25T10:51:00.001+08:00

I couldn't sleep last night.At around 10:30 PM, P came rushing into the room and asked me if I had received a text about a young boy who had died at the Ateneo Grade School earlier that day. I immediately got up and we both looked at L, all of ten, who was fast asleep on the bed. "He was L's age..." she said.The details I have are still sketchy but my heart is so heavy and it goes out to everyone

John Travolta's Grief

2009-01-04T12:00:00.000+08:00

Irregardless of whether his son Jett had autism or not is no longer the question.A son is dead, and John and Kelly Travolta's life will forever be changed by it. How devastating and sad to start the year on a very sad note. It will be a long process for them. I do not know how Scientology deals with matters of loss or if they believe in eternal life at all.My heart grieves for the loss of their

Finding Lala

2008-11-02T05:12:00.000+08:00

Serendipity has always been of my favorite words and it came alive for me in time for All Soul’s Day. It is the story of “finding” someone I had lost 33 years ago and putting closure to a childhood grief experience I thought I had long buried and forgotten. In Kindergarten in the early 70s, I had a best friend at Maryknoll (now Miriam College) named Lala de las Alas. We hit it off

Hannah's Hundred

2008-10-15T14:01:00.000+08:00

The gift of life is the most precious gift of all. If you would like to pay it forward by giving a little girl a shot at life, please read on... A few weeks ago, I wrote about my three birthday wishes. Today, I write about the fourth one. About a month ago, I came across the story of Hannah Ysabelle Cordoviz through my friend Rapa Lopa's Facebook site. Hannah is a one year old girl afflicted

A Book for Grieving Children

2008-10-09T16:45:00.001+08:00

I knew loss as a very young girl when my father died of a heart attack when I was 16 years old. In 1981, an adolescent like myself could not make heads or tails of what the whole grief experience was all about. Drawing from my own personal experience and that of my child's, a little over a year ago, I set out to write a children's story with Pia as my subject. It was the story of how she coped in

Has Justice Been Served?

2008-10-07T10:56:00.000+08:00

Seventeen years ago. On a cold, dark evening. A sixteen year old girl begs for her life. Deaf to her pleas, for some unfathomable reason, she is shot, in cold blood. Seventeen years later, in the dead of the night, while the whole world sleeps, the man who shot the 16 year old in cold blood, is set free. I wonder what thoughts must be going through Hultman's hearts right now? What would I do, if

Holiday Travel and Travel Tips For Kids (ages 3-10)

2008-09-30T06:10:00.000+08:00

Paul Newman's Greatest Legacy

2008-09-28T14:48:00.000+08:00

The Hole In The Wall Camps will be one, if not the most lasting, the most memorable of Paul Newman's legacies. More than his films, and his other philanthropic works, this is the advocacy that perhaps will leave it's mark on thousands of lives. Paul Newman will live on in each every child that has come through this camp. Watch this beautiful video...

Paul Newman, 83 Goes Home

2008-09-28T14:30:00.000+08:00

I just read the sad news. One of my childhood idols has passed away. Paul Newman, 83 died in his Connecticut home after a long battle with cancer. He will be a great loss not only to Hollywood, but to the world, which he made a little better by his presence. Not only was he a brilliant actor but he was a wonderful human being. An Associated Press report says -- "Newman had a soft spot for

Blue Eagles Fly HIGH!

2008-09-21T14:27:00.000+08:00

How sweet it is...! Rabeh and the team rocked Araneta this afternoon. Thank you Lord for leading our boys to victory! 69-61. It was simple awesome! Let's continue to pray and soar!

Let's Help Hannah! One Year Old Needs Portable Ventilator

2008-09-14T05:38:00.000+08:00

There are stories that tug at your heart and remind you of certain points in your life’s journey. Once upon a time, I was a mother with a child who was born with a congenital heart defect. Migi left this world to return to his true home ten years ago, and that episode changed my life, our lives as a family forever. I remember how, when he was just a baby, I would hardly leave the room in

Fly High! Ateneo Defeats De la Salle... Again!

2008-09-06T14:21:00.000+08:00

We soared HIGH... once more! Go ATENEO! All the way to the championship :) A wonderful prelude to our sesquicentennial.

For All Ateneans - Basketball, The Ateneo Way

2008-09-04T04:26:00.000+08:00

This was sent to me via email by my friend and blogmate Jane :) and then I saw it on my other friend Tina's site. Too brilliant not to share! September 6 is THE day...One BIG FIGHT! ADM 102: Introduction to Ateneo-La Salle GamesThu/Sat/Sunday, 4:00 PM, Araneta Coliseum Course DescriptionThe course introduces the student-cheerer to the dynamics and principles of the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry. The

Prayer For My Friend

2008-09-01T19:08:00.000+08:00

And just when I thought that the Lord was done speaking to me through music, I had to "stumble" upon this.Another beautiful one from Casting Crowns. For a friend who is very dear to me. Here's my prayer for you, set in music and lyrics that I pray you will listen to. May the Lord touch your heart.

Who Am I? Here's the answer...

2008-09-01T18:53:00.000+08:00

There are some songs that move the spirit and move you to tears of joy and humility.Last night at worship, one of our pastor's sons sang this song that resonated in me. Reminding me how we are but a speck of dust on this earth and how everything we have - loved ones, talents, and material possessions are only lent to us. "Not because of who I am, but because of who YOU are..." Here today, gone

In The Eye Of The Storm, HIS Eye Is On You

2008-08-27T17:26:00.000+08:00

Today I accompanied a good friend (more like a sister) and her family to her father's first of a series of radiation treatments. The treatments are being done at the hosptal where I work and I consider it a blessing having this opportunity to be of service in whatever little way I can. We watched from the sidelines as her dad was fitted with his mask, and the technician gently positioned him on

Ted Kennedy's Season of Hope

2008-08-26T14:48:00.000+08:00

"For me this is a season of hope...." - Senator Eduard Kennedy I've always been a HUGE Kennedy fan. Teddy Kennedy's speech at today's Democratic Convention was one of the best I have heard. Stirring, inspiring, and heartwarming, it was also a bittersweet moment. I could not help but be teary-eyed while watching him on Youtube today. Perhaps it is also because he shares the same illness with

Tara's Deep Deep Sleep

2008-08-13T18:16:00.000+08:00

It was momentarily surreal for me. Like watching parts of my life in a movie. As H and sat across Tara's parents - Larry and Anne - it was liikelooking at ourselves some ten years ago. Only this time, it wasn't Migi lying in a deep coma but 22 year old Tara Santelices. When I first told H that I wanted to visit Tara's folks in the ICU waiting area of The Medical City, he wondered aloud if it was