“I believe that the loss of a loved one does change you forever but that the change isn’t always a bad thing. The days will come when the smiles will take over the tears when talking about our loved ones. Everything we go though in  this life as an affect on us death is no different.”

It was the last sentence that made me really think…”everything we got through….has an affect on us, death is no different”

She is right. Death is yet another challenge, another event that shapes us as people. If life was perfect, I am not sure we wouldn’t be bored! Life is imperfect because humans are imperfect. Life is not what we are given, life is what we make it.

When you grieve, you are wanting life to change…..to be perfect…to want eternity. In reality, that wouldn’t be life. Life has a start and an end, we may wish that they had lived longer, we may wish that they were still here….but maybe we should just make one wish – that

Others get the chance to love like we did…

Don’t forget to get your memorials, your stories, your poems in for our special Rememberance Day on August 12

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Post from: Widows Quest

Fortunately at the end of his life – he died of dementia – we became close and we both managed to say those three little words to each other. Families are strange aren’t they…..now he isn’t he, I miss him soooo very much.

Anyway it will be his birthday on August 12th and I wanted to do something that honours his memory. He loved people, he loved to share, he was the champion for the underdog. So I was thinking that on 12 August I will bring together stories or memorials of other people who have lost people, they loved.

To this end if you want to join in the email me at anna@b5media.com with either

• A story that makes you smile of someone you have lost
• A dedication for someone you loved and lost
• A poem inspired by your grief
• Or a link to an article that you have written about the death or grief over a loved one

So that I have time to pull them together could you get them to me by 10 August 2008. 

Let’s make that day special and show the power of love, the power of sharing and the power of memories…. 

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Post from: Widows Quest

I came across a site called Linkory which allows you to share memories. All kind of memories including memorials of people that we have loved, people we have lost. I came across this post by Laila Salaam

“I remember the morning that I called home to talk to my Dad. I never did that. After I grew up and moved out we had this weird love/hate relationship that was never resolved. That morning, though I never did it any other time, I called and asked to talk to Dad. Mom said he was still sleeping, but she would have him call me when he got up to go to work.

I never got that call.

The call I got was from my Grandmother, three hours later. She said she needed to talk to me and that she was coming over. Dad had had a heart attack. His heart literally blew apart in his chest. The paramedics worked on him for over two hours, but my dad had died, and I never got to tell him that I loved him, that very last time.

That was 27 years ago. I was 19 and he was 43.”

 It moved me because I could relate to the relationship with my dad, gosh how I loved him yet how he irritated me…..it reminded me that I am not the only one who misses their Dad, not the only one who wishes that she could go back in time.

Memories, or the sharing of memories can really help others with their grief

Post from: Widows Quest

“Candles of remembrance will shine bright around the world this Sunday, December 9 as tens of thousands of bereaved families join together to remember all children who have died. The Worldwide Candle Lighting, sponsored by The Compassionate Friends, is held for one hour at 7 p.m. local time and unites the global bereavement community in remembrance of all children who have died, regardless of age, religion, or ethnic origin.

Everyone is also invited to TCF’s national website www.compassionatefriends.org the day of the Worldwide Candle Lighting to leave a message in an online Remembrance Book that will receive thousands of entries including many in foreign languages. Extended Online Support Community hours will be available on the website.”

If you are looking for a way of creating a memorial what a wonderful way of bringing out the best in the world.

Post from: Widows Quest

One thing that I always have felt grateful for is being there at the end…the best part is getting to say the words, the bad part is it leaves you with a sad last image of your loved one.  

If you want to share with us what you would like to have said then leave a comment it would be great to see what you are feeling….

Post from: Widows Quest

“This past year has been a journey to say the least and I do not think I would have gotten through it if it weren’t for the support from friends family and Widows Quest. Your site helped me see that I was not the alone and that means so much to me. I wanted to share a poem I wrote for him, actually it is more for his mom and I because it reflects so much of what we feel. Again thank you for your postings they have helped in so many ways. 

One Year Later

One year later and you are still gone
One year later and it still seams so wrong

Do you look down at me at night
Do you see my candle so big and so bright

The candle I burn reminds me of you
The candle I hope you would burn too

 Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you
Hoping you’d come back so the days won’t be so blue

Once an earth Angel who was sent up above
You now watch over all those you dearly love

Though sometimes in my mind I forget you’re dead
But I make sure to keep you living in my head

I love you so much it makes me so sad
That I can’t hear you say it back – the one thing that would make me glad

I know you are still with me; your love is within my heart
Though life is no longer present, our souls will never part.

 Tiffany on behalf of myself and all other Widows Quest readers, our thoughts are with you and your pain is our pain…

Post from: Widows Quest

We’re planning to run this event for approximately two weeks during the month of October (or until the prizes run out). And during that two weeks, we’ll be giving away some amazing prizes.

We’ve already come up with a few prizes of our own by way of previous product reviews, public relations contacts and more to give to readers but would like to supplement them with some other prizes and gifts from sponsors interested in being a part of this event where they could get a little attention and we can reward our loyal readers.

If you’d like to participate by offering a prize (in return for a little publicity throughout our channel) please email me with the following information in the following format:

1. email gayla AT b5media DOT com (substitute AT and DOT with the appropriate @ and .)
2. make the subject line ‘BLOGTOBERFEST PRIZE’
3. describe the prize you would like to offer (what is it and it’s value)
4. include a link to the prize if you have one – if not, a company website would be fine.
5. include your name, the link to the site you’d like us to link to in return for your prize and a graphic you’d like us to use along with your mention.

NOTE: While we would like to include as many prizes as possible – however, we won’t be able to accept every offer for whatever reason. We’d like to encourage prizes that are in line with at least one of our blogs content – so our readers will benefit the fullest from their participation.

Also note that our channel has an international audience and prizes need to be able to be received by readers around the world so please factor in that you’ll need to pay for any shipping if it’s won by an international reader unless otherwise specified or earmarked for specific distribution only.

Prize submissions will be accepted until Friday September 28th.

Prize Suggestions: Cash or gift certificates are always a plus, gadgets and random fun things. Electronics, books, memberships, toys and just about anything that is “suitable” to at least one of our blogs.

We’d rather keep this event unique, so things like ‘hosting packages’, services and ‘ebooks’ aren’t going to exactly be relevant to participants. The more fun and creative the contribution the better (and value is a real plus).

What do you get in return?

You’ll be getting promotion in return for your prize on a number of pages/posts throughout the entire channel that yields a high number of visitors daily and monthly.   Historically, once a contest of this magnitude is underway, you’ll probably get linked to from other blogs also as these events cause quite a stir around the blogosphere.

The better the prize the more attention you’ll get!

Now, let’s see just how creative some of you can be!

Post from: Widows Quest

E= Each day we live we have no way of knowing our own fate, the fate of people we love. Live and love for the moment.

L= Love is eternal, death happens in a second, but the love does not die, it lives through the grief.  

E= Events can bring people together, in the world’s grief there were wonderful sights of people reaching out to others, looking out for others, supporting, understanding…..let’s learn that it doesn’t need an horrific event to live as generous human beings, we can live generously each day.

V= valor and bravery is all around – we should never forget the bravery of all the service people that each day put their lives on the line for our safety

E= Expect the unexpected and somehow you will never be disappointed.

N = Never give up hope that the heroes of 9/11 died in vain, lets hope that we can find a way of living together in peace as that would be a fitting memory for all those who died in such a traumatic way.

Post from: Widows Quest

Diana will always be for me

• A beacon of hope, a beacon for the underprivileged people.
• A beacon of empathy….in a world that seems never to have enough time, she always did. She brought to the fore the need for all of us to be charitable, for all of us to think of others.
• A beacon of beauty…. but in a natural way. Her smile could light any room.
• A beacon of motherhood. Her love for her boys was there to see, loving in public and being a proud mother became “cool” in a world where people have less time for their children.
• A beacon for human frailty. Diana was not perfect, but somehow her imperfection just showed us the wonder of humanness.

Diana’s legacy will live on, both in words and through her sons. She helped the world see that we all need to be more loving and human. Her spirit will live on each time we take the time to help others…..

Post from: Widows Quest

“Cut glass. If you’d like to keep your eternal remains close to home, you can have your ashes compressed into an artificial diamond by a company called LifeGem. That’s right: you can wear Grandma around your neck. Prices start at $3,300 and   go up to $25,000.”

I like the fact that I would be a diamond – it would mean I would finally go to social events and feel comfortable, even on someone else’s finger!

Post from: Widows Quest