05/04/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1B2NhnaeJn/?mibextid=wwXIfr
A shared story from a bereaved mother.
They say that siblings are the forgotten mourners and I believe this to be true. Their grief eventually forgotten in time by all, even their parents, blinded by the loss of their child, unable to “see” their remaining children through their own pain. My two forgotten mourners, lost their brother tragically and suddenly. Torn from their lives in a instant, he was gone and they were left here without him. Not only did they lose a brother they lost the parents and family they once knew. Nothing would ever be the same again, including themselves.
As parents losing a child, we received overwhelming, unconditional love and support from family and friends, we still do to this day. When young people lose a sibling, the support and love they receive from family and friends is immediate and heartfelt. But as the months go by that love and support they received so intensely dissipates and gradually disappears. It’s as if their grief had a timeline, a beginning and an end and it’s now over. As they grow and mature so does their grief. Their grief will never get better, it becomes different and the loss of their brother becomes much more real. He was their big brother, our oldest child and he was only 24 years old.
How do my surviving children reconcile who they are now and their place within a once happy and whole family. Their brother is missing from everything, from the ordinary moments and from the extraordinary moments in their lives. He was and always will be their brother. The older they get the more complicated their grief becomes. I wish I could make it stop and return to them our once “normal” and “happy” family life. But I can’t. It’s another grief I carry. The world can be cruel and people can be unkind, judgemental and simply careless with the hearts of others, including the broken. I want to protect them, I want to shield them from anymore hurt and pain. But I can’t. I know they will find their way, they already are. And I will always be one step behind them as they navigate this life together, without their brother. 💔💔💔
- Artist Credit: Unknown via Pinterest
