Today I am so very thankful that my friend Carol arranged to have grief expert Alan Pedersen speak at our bereaved parent meeting last night. He was so awesome. He also lost his 18 year old daughter Ashley in 2001, the same year that Amy died. Alan Pedersen is an award winning singer/songwriter, having spent several years writing music in Nashville, Tennessee. Alan has had several songs recorded by other artists, and has worked as an actor, stand-up comedian, and in radio as a network news reporter. In August of 2001, Alan’s 18-year-old and only daughter Ashley was killed in an automobile accident. This tragic event would change his life and set him on a grief journey. Alan speaks about surviving parental grief to organizations and churches across North America. He was very interesting and talked about how his grief has changed over the years but is still ever present. I certainly felt a strong bond with him. He only receives a small stipend and expenses for his talks. He has visited over 1400 cities in the U.S. Amazing! He was funny, informative, and caring. He is also a singer and songwriter. He sings about grief and love. His songs were so touching. They captured the love and grief inside a bereaved parent's heart and soul. Priscilla and I cried through every song he sang. He said he now celebrates his daughter's life instead of talking about and reliving her death. If you have time, check out his songs on youtube, especially if you have lost a child. He travels around the country in his van. To help fund his travel, he offers the option of purchasing a butterfly decal for $100 and it includes your child's name, birth and death dates and hometown.
Priscilla putting on Krissy's butterfly.
Priscilla and I put our daughters' butterflies next to each other. It was a bittersweet moment. We hope they are hanging together on the other side.
It is sort of like our kids are getting to travel on his tour in spirit. We each brought framed pictures of our deceased children to the meeting and signed a board with their names and wrote messages to them.
Marianne and Tom lost their only child to breast cancer and are now raising their three grandchildren.
There was a beautiful candle lighting ceremony to close the ceremony. Everyone was crying while listening to the words of the song.
Work on the GLAM ROOM continues. Olivia and I found a white vanity table at a Goodwill thrift store. It was in perfect shape and came from IKEA originally. We stopped at AC Moore and bought spray paint. She wants to GLAM up the table for her GLAM ROOM!
She sprayed the table a sparkly silver! It looks fabulous! We had an old white wicker chest that she is painting, she is spraying it a brighter white. She also painted a plastic storage container with three drawers that we had. It looks great with a coat of paint on it!
She painted the drawers turquoise, they look great! She also started an Instagram post and started posting photos of her makeup routines. She got over 40 followers the first day! She is really good with makeup and hair and it has always been her passion.
Please follow Olivia and share with your friends!
Priscilla putting on Krissy's butterfly.
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