One of the things I worry about is remembering how Eli sounds or looks or all the moments I spent with him throughout his life. In fact, that is one of the reasons I keep this blog. Holidays can be difficult for various reasons. I wasn't sure how this one would feel. It's had its …
I am often puzzled when people express gratitude for something bad that has happened to them or their loved ones. They might say something like, "I learned so much from [insert challenging experience here], and I am grateful it happened because I am a stronger person because of it." Well, I'm not grateful for Eli's …
Dear Eli, You'll be happy to know the house didn't burn down today. Ella was hanging out in your workshop, which, if you recall, gets its electricity via an outdoor rated extension cord running to an outlet on the outside of the house. She was cold, so she turned on a portable heater. She was …
Continue reading Miracles, Coincidences, and Other Disasters
Dear Eli, I totally don't know what to call it. Death day? Death Anniversary? We were calling it your graduation, since you graduated from this life, but graduation anniversary doesn't seem right, either. So, when it comes up, we just call it the 17th. [One cousin who read this post uses "angelversary", which is a …
Dear Eli, I think you would have enjoyed our efforts to remember you on Halloween. We set up a skeleton, with glow sticks and a candy bowl, at your gravesite so people could trick-or-treat there. That evening, we went to trick-or-treat and saw another group there taking pictures and trick-or-treating. We exchanged a few words …
I've had trouble finishing posts for your blog. Distraction has been my therapy of choice, but it's time to use writing now. It's been almost 9 months since you died and it's gone by in a blink and dragged on like years, depending on the day. August 2021 A year ago, you spoke in our …
Dear Eli, Happy birthday! We've decided to throw a birthday party in your honor on your birthday this Friday, May 13th. We know you wanted to throw a party for all the people who have supported you and our family throughout your cancer fight these last few years, in appreciation for everything they have done …
As Easter was drawing near this year, I realized that it would be on the 17th of the month, exactly 5 months after Eli departed this world for the next. I was checking my Facebook messages this morning and had the thought that I needed to check the messages that Facebook doesn't notify me of …
My obligatory selfie--I take one every time I visit Eli's grave. I walked with my friend to the cemetery today. We brought a hook to hang one of the Valentines that someone had left on Eli's grave. Adam and I had discovered it several days ago when we had driven by. On Valentine's Day, my …
By Valerie Started: 11/25/21, Finished: 1/13/22 Eli & Valerie Aftershocks Often, the aftershocks are worse than the earthquake itself; they leave devastation in their wake for days, even weeks after the main earthquake. I wrote about my perspective from the sidelines watching my little brother Eli’s three-year battle with cancer. Unfortunately, the effects of cancer …
Eli The Boss 