FINDING A BEAUTIFUL LIFE AFTER SADNESS

Coming to terms with loss and still finding life beautiful.

This Aunt was so excited when she was going to become a Great Aunt. She went to the hospital the next day after the baby was born. She didn’t want to overwhelm her niece-in-law on the first day of the birth of her baby boy. But the next morning off she went to see her great nephew with her cute baby gift complete with rubber ducky.

She had to wait for the nurse at the nurse’s station and then was assisted to see the baby with another friend of her nephews awaiting the chance to see the baby.

When she walked in she saw her ex sis-in-law who welcomed her nicely. She walked to the bed and said hello to her niece-in-law who quickly handed the baby to the friend first. The great Aunt was rather jealous of that fact, but let it go as she proudly looked at her baby great nephew. The friend said, “Here, you go ahead and hold him. You are his great aunt.” And she took the baby and held it gently admiring this little guy who was two generations away from her. She loved seeing how healthy and beautiful he was. After visiting for a bit, she left and was very happy.

Days went by and no contact was made from her nephew and his wife. She emailed them stating how she would love to see the little baby soon when they were not busy. They never answered her emails. Months went by. No answering.

What had she done wrong? Nothing. She was always good to her nephew and never did harm to his wife. Then why the distance and them not allowing her to see her great nephew? She wrote another nice note and it was left unanswered.

 

She got the hint; they didn’t want anything to do with her. All those years she spent playing with her nephew and visiting him. All those trips to the park and games and chats. And now he was a grown man with a baby of his own and now he just tossed his aunt to the side as if she was dirt.

The aunt cried for days, weeks and months. Soon it was a year since the baby was born. She still had not seen it. She had mostly come to terms that she would never see that baby or any other babies her nephew had with her niece-in-law.

Then just as she came to terms with that, a big man walked up to her saying,” Do you think it is fair of your nephew to not allow you to see your great nephew?” “

“What?” How do you know about this?”  she replied in shock.

“I know about this as I am one of your protective spirits who is always with you. I have seen you cry for way too many days. I have seen you suffer and now I want to help you to no longer be sad.” And with that he put his strong arm around her aging shoulder.

“How can you help me not be sad? I have missed my great nephews growing up years. I have been excluded from seeing him do so many things. He is one now. I don’t even know what he looks like. I don’t know what his first word was. I don’t know if he is happy or sad. I don’t know if they are taking good care of him. It is so sad for me. How can you or anyone help me be happy again?” and she breathed a big sigh.

“This is how you will be happy again. (He looked deeply into her eyes as she listened attentively.) You are going to realize that your great nephew is just one person in the world. There are many persons in the world to love. You know you love that little one, but his parents are shunning you. So what I want you to do is to just love other people in your daily interactions. There will be many people that will be put in your path to say a kind word to, to lend a helping hand to, to give a smile. It doesn’t just have to be a baby or a toddler. It can be anyone. It doesn’t have to just be a relative. There are so many persons on this planet in need of love and especially from a kind soul like you!” and he gave the aunt a big hug.

The aunts tears dried up and she gave a big smile. It was as if his hug was magical.

The big man walked away and vanished into the woods nearby.

The aunt from then on started seeing all the people in her everyday life. She had her own two grown kids. She had friends of varying ages. She lived in a nice little town. She had a good life. She chose from then on to do as her protective spirit said. She chose to live a good life. To be happy. To show love to those who were around her. She started seeing that she didn’t have to let one little baby that she could not see wreck her entire life.

She looked at the baby photos of her own children. She remembered all the love she gave them and how they grew up to be fine young adults. She knew that she would always have love for others. She knew that she was a good person and that even though her nephew wouldn’t allow her to see her great nephew, that she still was a great person. And she didn’t need the label of great aunt to prove it.

With each new day the aunt went about her life being kind and loving to all she encountered. She still has hope in her heart that she will live long enough to where her great nephew will be old enough to make a decision to see her. But in the meantime, she was not going to make a sad situation hurt her whole life.

Her protective spirit came to her in a dream again and this time said “I am very proud of you. You have chosen to take my advice. You are a wonderful person to be around. So many people like and love you. You have chosen to love so many people. You brighten their day when they see your smile. You are a calming presence. What a gift you are to many people. Letting go of the hurt around not seeing your great nephew has been a most wonderful thing. I see you leading a most beautiful life and that is what life is all about!” And quickly the protective spirit vanished.

She was happy that she learned that love can be for anyone. And to never give up on loving no matter how much love can hurt you. Holding her great nephew one moment and never seeing him again was one of her most heartbreaking times. But she gained the knowledge that love is all around her and she can love so many people. She can sleep well at night now knowing that even though something wonderful was taken away from her, she still is so blessed to count her blessings and still be a wonderful loving person to many. And to know she indeed has a beautiful life!

Author's Note

Has this helped you with your dealing with a type of loss?