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ARTICLES
Holidays
Other > The Holidaze Approach
Nancy really, really wanted to shop for Joel. He would have been five years old and starting school. She thought of all the things she would have bought for his birthday: first book bag, first school supplies, outfit for the first day of school, new play clothes, new socks. And all she really wanted to do was to go shopping for him. So she decided to do just that!!! They went shopping. When Hawk & I met up with them at the Cafe, Nancy presented the huge gift bag full of beautifully wrapped presents. We delighted in unwrapping and sharing all the gifts for Joel with each other. And we had a birthday cake complete with candles and singing. We did a great henna design on Nancy's hand that incorporated Joel's name, so that as she moved through the weeks between Joel's birth date and death date, she'd have his name right out there for all the world to see!
What a COOOOOOOL approach to the birthday holiday was that?????!!!!! I was left feeling so in awe of all the ways Nancy continues to validate herself as Joel's mom. It is a different kind of parenting, to be sure, but it IS parenting. Joel's mom did school shopping just like everyone else! And I began to think about how this integration of "a different kind of parenthood" into the lives of bereaved parents moves them from just being "bereaved" and into being parents! They are whole and complete people -- living full lives and not losing their parenthood! And I began to think about how we could use this approach for dealing with all the holidays! Normally it is all a daze -- a holidaze of painful longing for our kids -- but with this approach, we can acknowledge, even celebrate holidays AND acknowledge our grief AND continue our parenthood!!
OctoberThe cool thing about this month is that it is Infant & Child Death Awareness month with many memorial events happening on or around the 15th. This "holiday" was made into a National awareness event by President Ronald Regan during his term in office. He had experienced the death of a child himself and so had a very personal understanding of how important this awareness is to bereaved parents. And this isn't only a National Awareness time as other countries have picked up on this as well. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness and so you often see the pink ribbons and lots of press readily available for these events. I think we can raise awareness for both causes by wearing both the pink ribbon AND the blue, pink & yellow ribbon. When you are at events for Breast Cancer Awareness and they ask what the other ribbon is for, tell them! If you are doing press releases about local events during this month, include the events for BOTH causes. This is also the month that sort of ushers in the "holiday season," and many parents have told me how very difficult Halloween is for them. It is the beginning of seeing all these happy families, all the gatherings of kids where your kid is missing, all the coming events where people will ignore your parenthood. BUT Halloween does not have to "open the season" in this way. It does not have to be a hollow, candy consumer based, day! Days
of the Dead also happen
at this time of year. This
is a Mexican tradition
NovemberNovember brings Turkey, I mean Tofu, Day! Again, I've heard from many families that Thanksgiving is a difficult time because at family gatherings people will not mention their dead child. There will be cousins around -- kids who are close to the age the dead child would be if he/she had survived. And yet, no one, not a single soul in the entire gathering will mention the dead child. And if the bereaved parent brings up the child, there will be a tense air or an explicit rebuke that says, "It is not appropriate to talk about death" or "You should be over this by now." How very sad. I advocate several things for incorporating the WHOLE family into this holiday. You, as a parent, can be pro-active in the inclusion of your child -- which shows an example of compassion and honoring ancestors to the entire family! You know that moment, right before everyone digs in, when everyone takes a turn going around the table to say what they are thankful for, right? I mean it is THANKS-GIVING time, right? Well, you take your turn and say something like, "I am so thankful for ALL my children, living and dead, because they teach me things about how to be a better person." And then say the names of ALL your children out loud. If the response is stunned silence, so be it. At least you have voiced your parenthood and included ALL the kids. For an even more expressive display of inclusion, you might consider doing something that people do for Day of the Dead. When celebrating Day of the Dead, people will have huge feasts. And at these feasts, there is always food set out for the dead who are being honored. Set a place at your table and then make sure the plate is stacked full of food and the cup is filled-to-overflowing. And that place is set for the entire meal. After dinner, you can place the plate and cup outside to feed the roaming animals, or you can feed it to the hungry ghost of the compost. Whatever you wish. DecemberThe winter holidays can also be difficult, too. But there are many ways to incorporate your whole family into this time of the year. Every December, every single year, there is a Memorial Day that happens on the second Sunday. It is called National Children's Memorial Day (NCMD). You can do a Google search for "national children's memorial day" and find many, many pages about upcoming events for 2004 -- most of these pages are updated each year to keep the event information relevant. The MISS Foundation chapters offer events every year, too. And these candle lighting events are usually open to all family members and friends. It can be a respite in the middle of the otherwise busidiculous season. I highly recommend families attend an event in their area if possible. This month tends to be the holidays of "gift giving" which can be hard on families because often the deceased children are forgotten. There are so many charities in need, that I often tell friends and family that while they are shopping for our living children, I'd appreciate they remember our son as well by giving a donation somewhere. It is a simple thing. People who love you and are in the mood for gift giving to your kids anyway, are very often thrilled to know about this simple way to include ALL your kids. I also recommend you do the same for you! When you are out shopping for gifts and becoming acutely aware that you should also be buying that cool new walkman for your child who died who should be a teenager this season -- well, I say BUY IT! And then go to your local family services office or just look around the mall for the places doing toy and gift drives. Attach a Kindness Card to whatever you bought and donate it. You get to shop for ALL your kids -- and you get to have your child's legacy help other kids in need. And as you celebrate Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwaanza, remember that these holidays are about light. So go ahead and light candles in your house and on your holiday table. Acknowledge that one of those candles is for your child. If anyone gives you a hassle about it -- remind them that thousands of people everywhere are celebrating the birth of a man who died a couple thousand years ago -- so you can celebrate your child who died in our lifetime!! New Years, Birthdays, Angelversary Days I've also participated in prayer-book-making or scrapbooking parties where ideas and supplies are shared for doing mindful art in group setting. Kids can work side by side with adults. You can invite friends and family members. It's always amazing to invite someone who says, "Oh, I can't do art." Only to then have them come and make the most amazing pieces!! Other than that, especially for birthdays and angelversary days, I recommend that you ask for whatever you need. People aren't mind readers, so it may be that they simply don't know how to support you on these days. Ask them, tell them, send invitations, send lists of ideas of things that might help. Most importantly for ANY day of the year, especially holidays, take good care of you!!! Self-care is our best way to stay well and stay emotionally available to the people in our lives. Whatever you need, do it! Be gentle. And know that you aren't alone. About the AuthorKara has been using poetry and other expressive arts tools on the grief journey since the death of her son in 1999. Her poetic and non-fiction works have been included in publications such as New Works Review, PoetsWest, Real Henna, Shared Heart Foundation's "Meant To Be", LightHearts Publication's "Soul Trek", MISSing Angels Newsletter, American Tanka, Mother Tongue Ink's We'Moon, Honored Babies, Cup of Comfort series, and more. She is a Carnegie Mellon graduate who co-founded KotaPress with her husband Hawk Jones. Her books "Mrs. Duck and the Woman" as well as "Flash of Life" have both been released thru KotaPress. She is currently in an apprenticeship working toward Master level of Reiki. And she founded HennaHealing.com where she is exploring the ancient art of henna and its uses for ritual and healing.
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Over this past summer,
I had the honor of spending
time with our friends the Graysons. I met Nancy
after their son Joel and
our son Dakota both died.
For the past couple of
years, we've gathered to
have
Joel's birthday together.
This year, I was overwhelmed
by a most simple and beautiful
act that Nancy did for Joel.
And when all was
said and done, Nancy
gave me the book bag,
packed full of supplies
and clothes, along with
a Kindness Card saying
this act of kindness was
being done in memory of
Joel. Through our Food
Bank, we were able to find
a family who needed items
like these for a child
who was about Joel's
age. 
So here are some ideas
for different "holidays"
and how you might approach
them:
where families spend the
entire month honoring their
dead. The beginnings of
community wide celebration
starts on Halloween when
it is believed the spirits
of the children who have
died, return. And then
through November 1 & 2
when it is believed the
spirits of all our other
deceased return. I encourage
families to explore diversity
and look into this tradition.
An interesting idea that
came up recently for these
kinds of days was to have
a party where you offer
some kind of art making
where people can make memorial
items or any kind of art
they want. Personally,
I've been doing henna parties
for people where several
activities happen. One,
I actually do 