Bereaved parents consider holidays

By Terry and Cliff Kelling

With Veterans Day and Thanksgiving upon us, it is our hope to reach out to all who have had a loss of any child, no matter the age or reason, and to let you know that you are welcome to join us at our upcoming Mountain Communities meeting on November 17, 2-4 p.m. We thank the community for all of the support we received for our first bereavement group last month. It was a soulful meeting.

We were a small group. We applaud and understand the amount of courage it took for those who attended for the first time last month. This is a self-help group for bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings who grieve because a child (or children) of any age may have died from any cause. We offer caring, compassion, hope and encouragement.

This is a difficult subject to confront. We encourage those who are grieving to come to meet others in the same situation.

It is a time when we can share our children and the disappointment and frustration we feel. The topic for the next meeting is the holidays just ahead, and how to relate to them.

Thanks also to the Family Resource Center and Clinica Sierra Vista Mental Health counselors.

The meeting on Saturday, Nov. 17 is at 3015 Mt. Pinos Way #102, 2-4 p.m. You can call for more information to 661-245-3081.

Eleven years ago Cliff and Terry Kelling learned their daughter, Alicia, 24 had died unexpectedly of pharmaceutical poisoning. The couple joined a parents’ bereavement group in the Santa Clarita Valley. Now they are sharing what they’ve learned with their mountain neighbors.

This is part of the November 09, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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