Julie McGregor
Originally published in Listening Hearts Newsletter Jan-Feb 2012
Another Christmas with all the activities had come and gone, and once again my husband Roy and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with good friends. We were in a room full of people, all happy and laughing, making their New Year resolutions.
I wondered what sad stories may be hiding behind some of the faces in the room, as people put on their mask once again, so the world doesn’t see their pain. I know for certain one friend at our table hides the deep pain of a son’s suicide, many years ago, in a time when such things were hushed up and rarely spoken of since. We only found out when we lost our son Joel, four and a half years ago, and then it was through the wife of his second marriage. We had known this friend for four years, and were shocked, and while we knew he felt our deep pain, sadly he still couldn’t bring himself to speak of it.
Last week was my son Joel’s 5th anniversary and we had a small gathering of family and friends at the private memorial garden where Joel was laid to rest. We included a butterfly release as part of the day and it was wonderful. We released 12 butterflies and while most flew off straight away, a couple stayed around on the bushes and one stayed on the box I was holding for a long time.
