Still a Mother, always a Mother. Please save a special thought for those of us who have lost a child. This

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Thank you for your post.

I do know how easy it can be to bring a conversation to a screeching halt, as you put it, by mentioning a dead child.

The thing is, many of us have lost a child. I'm a woman, despite my screen name, and have two good women friends, one lost a son shortly after birth, the other lost hers when he was about twenty.

When my son died, one of my first thoughts was that all his friends would forget him soon. That has not happened. His friends still post on his FB page, and that means a lot to me. People constantly trash FB, but they are wrong. Okay, so you're not a fan, I get it. But were it not for FB, it would have literally been years for his friends/acquaintances learn of his death. About two, maybe three years after he died, someone came to his page and was saddened to learn of his death. But at least he found out.

My living son, whom I talk about here as My Son The Astronomer, is finishing up a PhD in astronomy. He's a bit on the spectrum, so he's not one to talk about feelings, or emotions, and so I'm not entirely certain how he's dealt with his brother's death.