Newsletter for parents bereaved of only child or children Autumn 2022

TCF Newsletter | www.tcf.org.uk 2 The cycle of the year keeps turning and September is upon us. On occasion during the summer holidays, I almost felt like I had too much time on my hands. Friends kept telling me about plans to meet up with their children or grandchildren. A day at the beach perhaps? An outing to Alton Towers? Whilst it is lovely to hear about other people enjoying themselves with their families, for those of us bereaved of our only or all of our children, this can be a painful reminder of just how different our lives are to what we expected and hoped for. There is no changing the reality that our children not being here really hurts. Trying to cope with that hurt is something we all do in our own ways. What we still retain of our children, of course, are their memories. Memories do not make up for the fact that sadly they are no longer here with us, physically, but memories can bring them close to us in our thoughts. That’s the theme of the poems on the next pages which I hope you’ll enjoy. You’ll also find news about our recent weekend at Charney Manor. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their responses. Abi May, Pax and Catherine’s mum Thoughts from our editor Do you have anything to share in the next Newsletter? We’re looking for your tips and experiences on coping with the winter/Christmas season, but anything that might be a help to others would be great. Plus – of course - our children are as much a part of TCF as we are, and any poems or anecdotes about them will be appreciated.