In This House We...

🏠
Have you ever seen one of those signs in a house that says something like this:

“IN THIS HOUSE...
we laugh a lot,
we give hugs,
we are grateful,
we make mistakes,
we forgive,
we love....”

There are tons of variations. Do you have one?
If Coleman and I had one of those signs, it would say, “In this house...we forget.”

Every night since Jason died, I’ve looked at my calendar and set alarms for the next day. For everything. Every errand, every appointment, every task that needs to get done.
I also make a list.
And I have post-it notes littering the counter.

Reminders not to forget.

Forgetfulness is a real thing while grieving. I looked it up and found hundreds of articles supporting the concept.

Before school was closed for the coronavirus, Coleman kept coming home with his school planner filled out perfectly.
Then every night I would hear the inevitable, “Oh dang it! I forgot my packet/math book/spelling list/worksheet/paper/assignment/folder/etc.”

Missing.
He had written the assignment in his planner but the homework itself never made it to his backpack.

Night after night.
I wondered why he couldn’t remember to bring home his stuff!

Then one evening, I was busy setting alarms for myself for the next day when I heard the familiar sound, “Dang it....”

🤦🏻‍♀️ And I realized. Duh.
This is what the fifth grade version of what I’m feeling looks like!

He’s forgetting things, too.
It’s normal.
It’s grief.

And just telling him, “Don’t forget your stuff!” as I dropped him off at school wasn’t going to solve the problem.

I set an appointment with his teacher and prepared myself to start coming in at the end of the school day to remind him to get his homework.

In all of her awesomeness, Mrs. B said, “Let me do it. I’ll help him each day.”

He didn’t forget his homework after that.
😇 Mrs. B. also wrote a note of encouragement or a reminder in his planner every day.

In this house we’re forgetful.
But that’s just grief.
We also have angels to remind us of stuff when we need a little help.

I miss you Mrs. B.
🐝💛

Missing any teachers lately?