LJ Herman is a former editor at Love What Matters and lives in Colorado. LJ is a concert, ticket and technology enthusiast. He has seen the Dave Mathews Band over one hundred times and counting.
How I Spread Mental Health Awareness After Losing My Son To Suicide
“‘Sending people to talk to me only makes things worse.’ That was the last text I ever received from my sweet boy.”
‘You are a mother. We all are. No matter how different our journeys may be, we all cross paths at some point. We are all in this together.’
“You are part of a special group of women. You are a member of a very select tribe. You are never alone. You are seen. You are heard. You are valued.”
‘A little boy saw you and yelled, ‘You’re brown, you’re not supposed to be brown!’ My heart dropped to the floor. You had the most innocent look on your face.’
“The boy’s mom quickly said, ‘He is brown, but he’s beautiful.’ The little boy yelled again, ‘No, he’s not. He’s NOT beautiful, because he’s brown!’ In the moment, I couldn’t even open my mouth.”
‘As painful as this picture is for me to see, it hurts even more this could become ANY ONE OF YOU. I know I’m a lucky one.’
“Why do I show you my face? Why do I show you my pain? Why do I reveal these heart-breaking scars? I’ll tell you why.”
‘I sleep in my contacts all the time and I’ve never had a problem.’ I hear this daily, as an eye doctor. This bacteria can quickly lead to permanent blindness.’
“It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in.”
‘It’s May, the month where it all goes down the tubes. I’m here to give you permission to tell all the CRAP to take an actual hike. Hand them lunch money. There is food, and that’s enough.’
“You will mess up. You will forget it’s Dress Like a Lumberjack Day or you will forget your cherub needs a cold drink to enjoy during the ‘special movie reward.’ You are allowed to feel bad for 10 seconds. Then I require you to move on. Your kid is fine.”
‘I’m slowly learning I’m not ever going to be the popular girl. I’m not going to be the prettiest, or the loudest, or the life of the party.’: Woman learns to accept herself as is, ‘I’m okay with it’
“I’m not good at small talk, gossip or anything surface-y. I’m not going to be invited on tons of girls’ trips, or Bunco nights, or whatever, but I AM the kind of girl who will answer her phone at 3 a.m. if you need someone to talk to.”
‘Her best friend lost her husband in Afghanistan. His friends would all get black coffee. He always got a big pink smoothie with whipped cream on it. Then, something beautiful happened.’
“One of our favorite regulars walked in to order her usual. I noticed it was taking her a little longer to order, so I glanced over and saw she was crying. The employee on the register was choked up as well, and handed me this post card.”
‘Mother’s Day after your Mom dies looks different. Dodging the card aisle because you can’t bring yourself to read them. It’s for those with a Mom who lives here, not in Heaven.’
“It looks like changing the channel when the commercials come on talking about gifts for Mom, because you know not even Amazon Prime can deliver a gift to Heaven. You hope nobody will ask you what your plans are with your Mom for Mother’s Day.”
‘It’s just so hard sometimes.’ I could feel his tears coming. ‘Sir, I know exactly what you mean. I lost my mom 2 years ago.’ His heart became heavier. He asked if he could give me a hug.’
“I hugged a stranger in Walmart. I was in line waiting to check out. The older gentleman behind me was looking for a nice picture frame to use for his mother’s picture. He had recently lost his mother. They had lived together, and he took care of her.”