Tag Archives: Loss

YOU Don’t Know Me and YOU Don’t Know My Grief

As a YouTube creator, I am no stranger to the horrible trolls who have targeted me, even called a fake SWAT on me that could have had ended tragically and left me with PTSD.

When I lost my oldest son unexpectedly on May 6th of this year, it did not take long for the ugliest of trolls to attack. They are narcissistic individuals without empathy. They made jokes about my son and about my grief.

World War, First, War, Wwi, Ww1, Military

Nothing was off limits for them. Even though attacking vulnerable individuals and bullying is against YouTube’s Terms of Service, they continued their disgusting attacks relentlessly. Those that participated on panels and in the live chats were no better. They obviously agreed with what was going on because they took no stand against it. You know what they say about birds that flock together.

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It seems my channel name gets them good views and they watch me obsessively, to the point of reiterating every detail, and then insanely saying they don’t watch. Their words come from a place of intense jealousy and reflect everything that is wrong with them. They talk about me being boring, monotone, ugly, abusive, money-hungry, a sociopath and other profanities. These are all adjectives that describe them to a T. They say I have no sense of humor and then try and copy the exact gags and fun stuff we do.

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Their jealousy stems from the fact that we have the best community on YouTube, filled with the most loving and caring people around. The Rambler community has held me up and loved me during the darkest hours of my life. We even created a grief group and a grief panel to help and support others.

Grief, especially grief from losing a child does not have a formula. Everyone experiences it differently. There is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of your child. Yet, these so called experts, including those that don’t even have children, want to tell me how to grieve.

Swing, Rush, Playground, Meadow, Play, Children'S, Out

One particularly elderly woman who labels herself a widow, went on a disgusting rant about me. I had never even heard of this woman when a video she made showed up in my YouTube feed because she used my channel name in her title.

This woman described herself as she was supposedly talking about me, saying I was boring, monotone, unattractive, had no sense of humor, dry lips and a Donald Trump mouth. She said I had crooked teeth (better call my orthodontist) and that they made my mouth hang wrong. She said that she could just see I had terrible breath. Everything she said described her. That is how it is with narcissists, they take everything that is wrong with them and project it onto others.

Self Love, Man, Mirror, Archetypes, Awareness, Error

Beyond that, she wanted to tell everyone that I never cared about my son. She said I should be curled up in a ball in the corner of my room. She said she never saw me shed a tear, that when I cried there were no tears. She said that I did not love my kids, never hugged them and was abusive to them and my husband.

She compared her grief from losing her husbands to my grief from losing my son. She has no right to assume the grief is anywhere near the same, because it is not. Losing a child is unnatural, and that is why their is no name unlike the name of widow or widower for a person who loses a spouse.

Don’t you dare judge me in my grief out of your dripping jealousy. How can you call me money-hungry when I have never asked for a dime from our community? Her and her other trolling friends seem to know every detail of my life, mention I have 2 homes etc. They are dripping with jealousy, as they are the ones who are the so called ebeggers. They use my name and the channel name to get views and it is obvious. How sad, they cannot get views on their own content.

Snake, Reptile, Tree Snake, Animal World, Terrarium

So for all you despicable trolls, leave me alone, don’t talk about my children, don’t talk about my life, leave me alone. Most especially don’t talk about my grief, because you don’t know anything about it.

All you see is what I choose to show you and nothing else. You and I have never met in person, I have never spoken to you on the phone or through email. You know nothing about me or what I am going through.

It is my hope that shining a light on this detrimental behavior will capture the attention of the people who can help me reach YouTube and hold them accountable to their TOS.

Behavior like this can cause vulnerable individuals to do something tragic to themselves. It is sick and twisted and against the law (cyber bullying, cyber stalking, harassment) as well as against YouTube’s own TOS.

Leave us all alone with your ignorant rants. I know you are sick of looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing all of your flaws. You feel better when you go on rants and project all your own insecurities and flaws onto others.

The reason you are not successful and need to put other creators in the title of your videos is because you attract everything you put out there. The only people who want to be with you are people who share that darkness and hate in their souls.

In closing, I want to thank the Mommy Ramblings Community for their continued support of me and my family. We have truly grown over the years and have become a loving family of our own.

Pink Roses, Roses, Flowers, Romance, Romantic, Love

I do not know how I would have survived if it had not been for the love and support from all of you. We genuinely care and love each other, and that is the biggest thing these individuals are jealous of. They don’t have it, because they don’t know how to give true love and support to others. They try to pretend they love and care about people,  but it is phony. They are narcissists, sociopaths and even psychopaths who love only themselves and have no empathy for others.

In closing, I will say it again to these heartless bullies, LEAVE ME AND OUR COMMUNITY ALONE!!!

 

 


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Filed under Grief, Mommy Ramblings, Ramblings & Rants

That Call – The One That Changed My Life

It will be 7-weeks in a few hours that I got that life-changing call. The call that separated my life into the before and after. That call that made me a member in a club no one wants to be a member of. The call that forever changed our family, our dynamic, our existence and our faith. The call that gives me chills whenever I think of it. The call that made my body go into a state of numbness that scared me then, and scares me still. The call that no mother should ever get. The call that broke my heart. The call that shattered my world.

Apple, Close-Up, Electronics, Gadget, Iphone

In the past week, things hit me that I was totally numb for. I think back to the funeral home. When it was time to close the casket and prepare to go to church, I did not yell, scream or cry for them not to close it. Now, I have terror thinking of that. I am screaming in my mind now, don’t take him away, don’t close the casket. My beautiful boy, my baby, my son, don’t take him away.

Don’t deny me the opportunity to touch his hand, stroke his thick hair, kiss his face. Don’t deny me the chance to gaze on the dimple in his chin, don’t deny me the feeling of putting my hand over his. I should not have to do this. At times it haunts me as I try to remember the small café au lait spot on his leg or what his feet looked like.  I search for photos or my mind to remember. I should not have to do this. My son should be here. It is so unfair, so unjust.

The numbness lifts for minutes at a time, I can not handle more. I am thankful for that blanket of numbness that covers me and shields me from the unbearable pain.  Time goes on, it is a painful reminder of  the last time I heard my son tell me he loved me.  That was 7-weeks ago when he said that to me. I tell him every day how much I love him.

I will never stop loving him, never stop missing him, never stop looking for signs of him. I will never be ungrateful for all the signs he sends. The things he is making the Eagle and the cardinal do are nothing short of miraculous. I will never take them for granted. I pray he sends them to me.


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Filed under Child Loss, Grief, Life, Life Stages

A Mother’s Worst Nightmare – I Lost My Son Yesterday

My second child and first son came into the world on March 19th of 1989. It was Palm Sunday. I remember my focal point during my natural, drug free delivery, was an EZ Scrub box by the sink in the room. We joked about naming him EZ Scrub. We named him Raymond Charles instead. I think that was a good decision.

After Ray, I gave birth to 3 more sons. I lost 2 babies along that route. Yesterday, I lost my precious child Ray. I don’t even know how to process this.

When I got the call that I had to go and that something happened to him, I knew he was dead. Immediately, I felt a panic but then this wave of numbness came over me. I cannot explain it but to say it just took all emotion from me in every way.

I was not crying, angry, panicked, sad or anything else. I was totally calm and quiet even saying I could go alone thanks to this pandemic and we would not have to take the younger boys. That feeling stayed with me, in fact I apologized to the medical personnel for how I felt and asked them why. They explained I was in shock and denial.

After several hours I went back home with my son Michael. I hugged him during the ride. I told him, he could not leave me. He promised me he would not. I expressed my disbelief. I did not get to see my son last night. The trauma he experienced would be too much for me to bear they told me. They said I did not want to remember him like that. However due to this Covid-19  thing, we had been distancing, and so in a way, I felt it was not real.

I did not eat dinner and did not want anything, I took a shower and went to lie down in bed. My young sons were with us and grieving in their own way. My youngest Luke slept with my husband and I. His small body nestled between us until he fell asleep, and then my husband took that space and held me. I did not sleep at all.

I laid there in a state of disbelief. I wished over and over that I would wake up. About 2 weeks prior, I had a dream that both of my older sons died. It was so real, when I woke up, I was so relieved. It was a dream. I called them and told them, I needed to hear their voices. Now, I need this so badly to be a dream.

This is not the way it is supposed to go. He was a child that was like me in so many ways. Our laugh, the way we would get so hysterical we could hardly breath,  he had the cutest laugh that you could not help but love. Now, I am trying so hard to remember it, thinking if I have it on any video, worrying I am forgetting it. Just today our youngest reminded me of something I had forgotten. How could I forget these things when memories of my son are all I have left?

I used to spend so much time thinking of what song we would dance to at his wedding. Now, that will never happen. I will never see him as a husband or a father. All those dreams died with him. I want this to be a dream. I want everything to be alright, I want to wake up. Why did this have to happen?

The feeling in my stomach is so empty and sick. I feel that life has changed in such a way, I will not be able to go on. I make my living being out there. I make my living on social media and talking about life, true crime, crafts, recipes and my family. Now, I don’t even know how I would ever do that again. If I don’t, how will our family survive?

How can I let their world unravel even more because I cannot do what I need to do to provide what I do for our family? At the same time. I feel bad that I even am thinking about this, but it is the harsh reality that the world does not stop when your child dies. Every day life goes on, and people have needs that need to be met.

Ray going to prom when I put his baby brother (2-weeks-old) in his arms.

I bought a book 13 years ago. It was called Roses in December. It is about a mother who lost 3 sons. I don’t know exactly why I bought it, but at the time, I had just given birth to my son Ethan. I was so scared as this book came into my field of vision in the book aisle. At the time, going through postpartum depression, I was afraid it was a premonition. One of the sons this author lost was named Ethan and it freaked me out. I told my husband about it when I arrived home and he assured me that was not the case.

Last night when I found out my son was gone, I wanted to go outside. The moon was full, I called his name, I begged for a sign. I needed to know he was here. I did not see one. The only thing I can say was remotely a sign, is that when I was speaking to family last night and dealing with medical personnel, a song was playing in the background. The lyrics, Heaven must be missing an angel, an angel child because they are here with me tonight. I felt those lyrics were telling me Ray was with me.

All day today I have been begging for a sign. I tried to sit outside and brave the pesky May bugs. I asked for a sign, the breeze picked up and the cardinal was singing his song so incredibly loud. I had to sit in my car in the driveway because the bugs were too much, I stared into the woods, in the direction of the cardinal and asked my son for a sign. I told him to give me a smack me in the face kind of sign. I had to know he was okay, I had to know he was here.

As I sat in the car, I thought of that book and went inside to find it. Even with prayers to St. Anthony, I could not, so I bought it for my Kindle on Amazon. As I sat there and read it, I could not believe that this book was all about what I was going through. I could not believe it. As I read her words, I sobbed loudly, she validated so much of what I was feeling.

Last night, as I layed in bed, I was freezing, It was caused by emotion and not temperature, no amount of blankets would remedy it. I was shivering and felt this kind of tingling in my body. At one point, I pleaded with my son to move that tingling to the back of my shoulders if he was here with me, It did go in that direction.

In a way, I did not want to fall asleep because I felt I would wake up and think everything was okay only to relieve it again. I felt such a numbness, but then in small waves the harsh reality would go in and a memory or other trigger would sweep over and I would say and know my son was dead. I would feel panicky and like I wanted to rip my own skin off to escape it. Then when I felt I could not deal with it, another wave of the totally numbness came over me.

I would go in the bathroom and keep repeating, “Ray is dead, Ray is dead, how can this be?” I called my friend in London who experienced the tremendous loss of her family this week last year. I spoke with her, at that point I was in a numb phase. The numb phase made me feel horrible too in a way. There were many other horrible thoughts that my mind went to. We torture ourselves.

I am feeling now I am going to lose everyone, even my own life. Everything I feel, I fear it is something catastrophic and because of the pandemic will be found too late. I fear that all my children and my husband will be taken and then I will die alone. I have these awful thoughts.

Back to the book, I just kept reading and sobbing. I called my older son, I fear so much losing him, I make him promise me he will be safe, drive safe, not do anything stupid due to the hurt he is feeling. Those two boys were so close, so close. He is going through unbelievable pain. I want to gather us all and go in a bubble. My daughter is coming in from NYC but because of the pandemic, we cannot even grieve this loss the way we want.

I cannot put my son in the ground, I cannot leave him there. We never talked about this because a mother is not supposed to bury her child. However in speaking with my husband and older children they feel it is the right thing and my son wants a special necklace to always have his brother with him. I want one too. I want him with me. I just cannot leave him.

I have moments of intense anger, I curse at God, I tell people that there is no God. I know that is not what I really believe, but at the time I feel it. I clench my fists, I cry out. How could his life be over like this, how? The cruelest thing is that my father died May 7th of 2006, my mother died May 8th of 2005 and now my son died on May 6th of 2020. My mother died on Mother’s Day and these dates are always around that time and add such hurt to the sorrow. I don’t even want to think about Mother’s Day this year.

I am thankful for the unbelievable amount of support I have received from our community on YouTube, the Ramblers are a blessing during this time. Yet, I am afraid it will be too much for them in the long run. No one wants to be around that mother who lost her child. No one wants to be around her because she is a reminder of their worst fear realized. So, in a way it is so bittersweet.

I do read the messages and sob. It is the same way I read that book and sob, and why I just purchased another book The Unspeakable Loss: How Do You Live After a Child Dies? Will I just buy these books and resonate and cry with them? I don’t know, I just don’t know. The biggest problem before I found out my son died was trying to firm up a deal on a much needed car. Now, that is on the back burner, and we jumped our van in order to make it down to town to meet with everyone yesterday.

I just want to get in my van and go for a drive and yet I cannot, I want to run away but I can’t. I do not want to be a member of this new club. I used to hear these things the way many of you are now, I used to thank God for the blessing of having all my children alive and well. I used to say a prayer for those lost. I thought that I would not be a member of that club even though I did worry about it. This has shattered everything for me, it not only made me a member in that club but it made me think of all the other terrible things that I may not be so lucky to escape. I am so afraid of losing everything even myself.

(I apologize for any errors, I wrote this as my thought process flowed, I cannot go over it because it hurts too much to proofread it. I just had to get this down.)

 


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Filed under Faith, Family

Humor, Heart, Loss, Triumph, Friendship, Family, and Love Come Together on the Pages of “LEMONS”– #Giveaway

I am sure you are probably familiar with the saying; “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is the something that 9-year old Lemonade Liberty Witt’s mama always told her. While Lem would like to do just that, it seems impossible that she could ever make lemonade out of moving to Willow Creek, California.

Willow Creek is a tiny town filled with tall pines instead of skyscrapers, and a Bigfoot lurking in the woods. Lem wanted to stay in San Francisco after her mama died with her friends, school and everything she loved. Instead, she was forced to go and live with the grandfather she never even met. 

Things seem pretty bad but then Lem meets 11-year-old Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives Inc., who is the sole Bigfoot investigator for their small town. After he invites Lem to be his assistant for the summer, the two set out on an epic adventure to capture the elusive creature on film.

In the end, Lem and Tobin’s big discovery ends up being more earth-shattering than they ever dreamed. Best of all, Lem learns that maybe she can make lemonade out of her new life after all. 

Humor, heart, loss, triumph, friendship, family, and love all come together to create the pages of LEMONS.

 About The Author:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This book is written by debut author Melissa Savage, a writer and a child and family therapist. This is a classic middle grade novel in the vein of Kate DiCamillo, Rebecca Stead, and Patricia Reilly Giff. Her desire to write purposeful, issue-driven books for young people, coupled with her interest in cryptozoology and the mystery of Bigfoot, inspired her to write LemonsSet during the summer of 1975 in California, this is one of those novels that you want to immediately read again after finishing. Savage wrote LEMONS partly to overcome her own grief after losing her son at the age of 9 months in 2012.

The Tobin character in the book is named after her own son because she wanted him to remain a part of this world. The character Tobin is what she imagined her son would grow up to be. Stoic and brave, as he was, but also scientific like his dad and as big a fan of Bigfoot and cryptozoology as his mommy! Melissa knows that losing someone you love is an extremely tough lemon, as Lem experiences in the story and she struggles with how to make lemonade again.  For Melissa sharing her son’s name and spirit with children all over the world is one of the ways she has learned to make her own lemonade. You can read an excerpt HERE.

When asked what she hopes readers take away with them after reading Lemons, Melissa answered, “Hope, first and foremost.” She wants them to know that there is hope and healing in the world, even after dealing with tough lemons, if you choose it and surround yourself with gratitude and people who love you. She also hopes that readers will take away a renewed acceptance of those who are different from them. Lastly, she adds, ” A newfound interest in cryptozoology!” You can learn more about Melissa HERE.

Great Summer Read

With summer coming this is a perfect read for kids, their parents, teachers and more! We are having a giveaway below where you can enter for your chance to win a copy of this middle-grade novel.

Giveaway:

Penguin Random House Publishing  is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!  One lucky blog reader will win their own hardcover copy of Lemons! Thank you to Penguin Random House for the review Novel and for sponsoring this fantastic giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.

Hardcover Copy of Lemons Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below.  Good Luck!!!

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Trying To Conceive? This May Help. #BabyStory

Regarding fertility, I guess one could say, I’ve been lucky. I was able to conceive easily and usually on the first try. I however knew many friends and family that struggled trying to get pregnant. Month after month of disappointment instead of a positive pregnancy test can make stress levels rise. Couples are told to relax when that seems to be impossible. For some couples time is a factor and they don’t have the time to just wait and see. Many couples want to be proactive and increase their chances to conceive.

After our fourth child was born, we were shocked to find out we were pregnant again when he was just 3 months old. It was quite a shocker since we were not trying. We knew we wanted another baby just were not planning to try for another few months. Sadly about 2 months later we lost that baby. Our OB advised us to wait 3 months before attempting to conceive again. As soon as we had the green light we tried and 2 pink lines made us super excited but a few days later, out excitement turned to sadness as we lost that pregnancy.

I made an appointment to see a specialist as I was very concerned. My first babies were conceived on the first try and were successfully carried to term without any complications. Now here I was, albeit only 7 months after our 4th babies birth with two losses. The doctor told me the second loss was most likely a chemical pregnancy and that given the sensitivity of pregnancy test today they were seeing them more and more. In the past these chemical pregnancies would go unnoticed and a woman would just think she was 2-3 days late.

He told us that there was no reason to think anything was wrong and that there was no intervention that needed to be taken at that time. He told us just to try again and that very attempt ended in a live birth! I know that compared to couples struggling for months and years with difficulty conceiving this may seem trivial but when you are trying to achieve that desired pregnancy even a month or two of disappointment can be heartbreaking. When you add in the loss of a pregnancy, it kicks the fears up more than a notch.

For me the reassurance of that specialist really worked to reduce my stress. I am an anxious person and had thousands of thoughts running through my head. Some may say they cannot believe I would jump the gun and see a specialist so soon but for my stress it worked so well. I left the office feeling reassured and confident. When we conceived that month, I attributed much of it to that peace of mind he gave me. I think if anyone is concerned that something is not right they should go to see a doctor and not think they have to wait 6 months or a year before pursuing that. I truly believe the simple reassurance can reduce stress which has been shown to negatively affect the ability to conceive.

Many times the stress of trying to conceive can lead to vaginal dryness and discomfort. The tendency to reach for a lubricant may seem logical but all lubricants are not equal. Some lubricants can actually impede sperm which is certainly the opposite of what any couple trying to achieve pregnancy wants.

Astroglide TTC Trying to Conceive™ is a specially formulated for couples who are trying to conceive. Astroglide TTC supports fertility with adjusted pH levels, compatible osmolality and a consistency similar to your body’s cervical mucus. Providing the optimal environment for sperm survival is paramount when trying to conceive. Specially formulated with adjusted pH levels that are compatible with sperm Astroglide TTC™ is more like your own cervical mucus.

Astroglide TTC™ also contains galactose which is naturally found in semen and fructose which is the main source of energy for sperm, giving them a better chance of survival and ability to move freely when compared to traditional lubricants. Astroglide TTC™ is priced at only $12.99 and is the best value on the market in comparison to competitive lubricants. Click HERE to see where you can buy Astroglide TTC™. You can connect with Astroglide TTC™ on Facebook and Pinterest.

Did you have any difficulties conceiving? If so were there any tips or advice you want to share with those reading who may be going through something similar? If so, I would love for you to share them HERE!.

“Astroglide TTC™ sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine”

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Astroglide TTC™ sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine


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