My Beautiful Boy

Tommy requested blue birthday cake 💙

Today, July 11th, is my son’s earthly birthday. Only he lives in Heaven now, where he moved when he was just 9 years old. He, and 3 of his classmates died in a horrific school bus accident when a semi-truck collided with the bus on a rural road in Snyder, Oklahoma.

This was many years ago, and my soul has since come to grips with the loss. Though my son, and the feeling of loss never leaves me, I have learned to live with the feeling and am grateful and thankful for the 9 years I had with my beautiful boy, Tommy.

Have you, or someone close to you suffered a deep loss? How are you/they coping with it?

If you have not experienced the loss of a dear loved one, you may not know that the loss of someone very close to you is a forever life change. There's no getting around it or over it. The grieving person's life will forever be different, it will never go back to the way it was – before they lost that one they love.

After the loss of a loved one, you're no longer the same person you were, without that loved one in your life. Along with the loss of the loved one, comes a loss of yourself. Often, we don't know who we are any more or how to live without our loved one. We frequently feel lost, alone, and that no one understands. These are normal thoughts and feelings a grieving soul endures. It is difficult to comprehend, for the grieving person, and also those around them.

However, there is hope! Hold onto this as you wade through the overwhelming darkness and sometimes despair of grief – There is a distant shore of new beginnings waiting for you. Yes, dear fellow Griever, there is hope amidst the pain and darkness. There is a life preserver you can cling to. There is a raft you can float on. There is a shallow end just past the deep. There is a soft breeze blowing to propel you to that distant shore. All you must do is make the choice to hold on. For as long as it takes. And you can do it. I didn’t want to live and love and be happy knowing my beautiful son had died. It was just too hard. I didn’t think I could. But, in time, I did. I made it to that distant shore. You can too, dear Griever. You can too.

Tommy Joe Pruett II, his 4th grade school picture, 1 month before the accident. The last picture taken of him 💙

In honor of my son’s birthday, today, I begin a new blog category – Grief.

Here, I will share candidly from my own grief story, and invite you to share yours. Together, we can share our sorrow, our joy, our pain, our difficult days, and those hard celebration days. We can encourage one another, lift each other up, and walk our grief journeys with hope – together. Please know that you are not alone.

I'll start with a few pictures of my son, Tommy. My heart always wants to call him “my beautiful boy” because he was beautiful. He was the sweetest, kindest, most loving child, always knowing when someone needed a hug and always willing to give it.

His given name is Tommy Joe Pruett II. His sister, my daughter, Tiffany, calls him TJ.

In the hospital - Tommy Joe II, One Day Old 💙

Would you like to share your beloved One? I would so very much love to see and hear about your special One, if you would like to post a picture in the comments. Tell me who they are. I'd love to hear your story, if you'd like to share it. I’d love to hear and celebrate the life of your beloved One ❤️

I hope you will join my blog, and please feel free to contact me anytime here. I'd love to hear from you.

Love and blessings,

Mindy