The Impact of Death on a Child Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Impact of Death on a Child - Essay Example Apparently, the dramatic situation at home when they discovered my grandmother had died; during a nap, so they thought she was sleeping for quite some time before they found her and came to a consensus that she was, indeed, dead, warranted forgetting to pick me up. At the time, though, it felt like they forgot my existence. My mother finally arrived looking tormented, even to my young eyes. I started crying as soon as she got out of the car and I saw her swollen eyes and reddened face, the deep creases set around her mouth. She did try to comfort me as best she could, given the situation, but her own suffering just added to my fear. We both cried the entire drive home despite the fact that she never actually told me my grandmother had died, perhaps she thought my immature emotions could not handle this information or maybe she could simply not bear to say the words, either way I was puzzled nonetheless and my tears were just a knee jerk reaction to the intense emotions of my mother, it is always scary for a child to see their parent distressed. When we finally arrived home (the seven-minute drive seemed like hours to me at the time) our entire family was at our house, yet, the packed bungalow was silent. Perhaps the state my mother and I led them to believe I had already been told, but the truth was I wondered and waited for my "Nana" for days before I understood she was never coming back. Looking back at this time I remember a dark and menacing atmosphere where I just tried to stay out of people's way (our house was the headquarters for all grief, big and small) and try and figure out what everything that was going on meant and, mainly, where my 'Nana' was and when she would be coming home. I recall relating the idea of my grandmother's return to one of my older cousins whose parents had come by to 'let it all out' (a phrase I'd overheard my mother using when one of our guests would buckle, allowing their face to contort as their pain cascaded down their cheeks); I think I simply mentioned an activity I would partake in as soon as my grandmother returned and I was met with the cruel and mocking laughter and was told she wasn't coming back, she was dead and that meant asleep forever.