Does that make me a bad person?

Our family always celebrated the holidays and Easter was no exception. We would go to church and then have a huge home cooked meal and the whole family would be together. We used to have it at my parents house until it got to be a bit overwhelming for them and then we would go to the club. But it didn’t matter where we had it.. we would just have a wonderful time celebrating the day. We would stuff ourselves with food and then everyone would head outside. The kids would find the colored eggs we hid for them over and over again and they would eat a ton of chocolate. It was always a great day and we were blessed to have the family all in one place.

I don’t feel much like celebrating this Easter. My parents are no longer alive and my sister is also gone now. The family is much smaller this year. It is also my son’s birthday and he isn’t here this year to celebrate Easter or his birthday. My son died in July of last year. The holidays and “firsts” are always the hardest. Everyone has told me this is the case and I was amazed I got through Christmas. Going to Vermont to visit my youngest child and my 3 grandsons made it a little easier since I wasn’t at home and doing Christmas as we had always done in the past. This is a new year, a year without my son in it. So everything will be different, Everything has changed.

I don’t know why this holiday is affecting me so much. I’m guessing that its the combination of Easter and my son’s birthday all happening on the same day. I won’t be able to see him or pick up the phone and call him… sing Happy Birthday to him and tell him how much I love him. Every year since the day he was born,  I have either seen him in person or talked to him on the phone and wished him a Happy Birthday. Every single year. Birthdays and holidays are special in our family. We make sure the person celebrating the birthday knows how much we care. I don’t know how to show him how much I care this year. I don’t even know how I feel this year. I think to myself, what would I have done last year if I knew it would be his last birthday? What could I have changed to make it even better? Did I tell him enough how special he was, did I make him feel loved that day? I saw him in person last year on his birthday. I know I told him I loved him and I hugged him very very hard.

I don’t recall my son’s birthday falling on Easter in the past. I remember it happening that same week or the day before or after but not the same day. He really would have loved that. He loved Reese’s peanut butter eggs and would eat the whole box in one sitting. So he would have really loved the fact that he could have had both his favorite chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and his beloved Reese’s eggs all on the same day. And believe me he would have eaten every last bite of both.

My son would not want us to mourn his death and I know he would want us to enjoy our holiday like we have in the past. I don’t know if I can do that but I will try. Have you lost someone dear to you and it was hard to celebrate a holiday or their birthday?

My 3 kids in their Easter outfits in the 70’s.

“Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.” ~ Mitch Albom