Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/301854
98 mas or worse than the actual holiday itself because the planning seems to linger on, everywhere you look you see joy, family gath- erings and parties but someone is missing so how can I have joy or a party? How do I enjoy Mother's Day ever again when one of my children is gone? The anniversary of Bryant's death is always a reflection day of what could've been different and what he would be today. Why did the accident happen? How did the accident hap- pen? Why Bryant? What did I do to deserve losing my son? After all these years, it's still not easy for me to relate what happened. My "new Normal life" is a fact that dealing with these days and occasions will be with me until the day I die. I didn't want to be a member of this exclusive club of suffering mothers, who buried their child, but this is what I have to deal with, and I have realized I need to somehow find and live its purpose. VACATIONS Vacations can be very slow to heal. If your family had a favorite vacation spot that your child loved, going back there can bring on a flood of memories. Some of my most treasured memories are from our annual trips to the beach. I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and my parents always brought us kids to the Florida coast every year. I continued that tradition with my children and we went every year. We moved to Tennessee when Bryant was almost 2, so he grew up in Memphis. We traveled several times a year to Louisiana to visit family and friends. Every summer we planned a trip to Gulf Shores where we would vacation with all of my friends that I grew up with in Baton Rouge. I basically loved any and all beaches and Bryant loved them, too. He had every float, boogie board and sand board made. It really didn't matter how old he was, he always wanted to go to the beach and looked forward to it every year, every trip.