how do you say goodbye?

For the most part creative blogs tend to be light in content, 

so I have deliberated over whether to write this post or not.

In this post, I want to talk about grief and loss, and children.

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers. 

Available HERE

Ari's Grandma (his father's mother) has terminal cancer

and is in palliative care at the moment. She is dying. 

Perhaps, this is why I have not been posting much lately...

(nb: On Monday 18th July, Beryl sadly passed away I wrote this as a tribute to her)

As you can imagine this is a very hard time our family, and

it is hard to find happy words when there is such sadness,

and death and loss are difficult to write about, but at home 

lately, there has been much discussion on death and dying.

There is a lovely review of the above and other Oliver Jeffers books 

here, if you're not familiar with them, and you can visit his website here 

The Grieving Child by Helen Fitzgerald. 

Available HERE

The above book is a great resource for anyone seeking advice on 

explaining death to a child and ways to help them cope with loss.

It and other brilliant books (on a whole variety of topics) 

can be found at the Open Leaves Bookshop.

My son Ari, who is five, is facing the death and subsequent loss 

of a person whom he loves very much, for the first time,

although he has of course encountered death itself before...

A few years ago we found a baby Sparrow. We named him Jack. 

Jack had a broken wing. We loved that little sparrow and

we attempted to nurse him back to health, but Jack Sparrow died.

As we didn't have a garden, only a window full of pot plants, we 

wrapped Jack in tissue, placed him in a box and took him to a park. 

We dug a little hole, said goodbye and buried him.

This year our neighbour's dog Mac, whom we loved dearly, 

was suddenly put down. I wrote this post about his death.

...whatever form it takes, death is difficult for children to face.   

Even the sight of a dead insect can evoke concerns about death.

Lifetimes by Brian Mellonie and Robert Ingpen. 

Available HERE

Lifetimes talks about life and death in quite secular terms.

It was a gift to me from my mother when I was a child, and it

is, as described a 'beautiful way to explain death to children'.

I highly recommend it to anyone with children.

When I was younger I spent many years working creatively as 

a trained volunteer with an organisation called Very Special Kids.

VSK are a Victorian based organisation, who provide support 

to the families of children with life-threatening illnesses.

I am fascinated with the Creative Arts Therapies, and this is primarily 

what drew me to become involved with emotional release work. 

At VSK I worked with social workers, assisting on camps and at fun days.

Sometimes I facilitated creative workshops of my own design.

I also orchestrated activities and decorations for Remembrance Day,

a day that is held annually to remember the children who have passed.

And, I spent much time contemplating the ways in which contemporary

Western Society approach death and loss, especially regarding children.

I am a great believer in the benefits of the creative arts

...visual art, dance, drama, music, literature... 

as tools of expression and therapy for children and teens. 

They are invaluable tools for emotional release work and 

in aiding children to develop their own grieving processes.

For more information on Art Therapy, you can visit this site.