Losing a child

My heart goes out to John Travolta and Kelly Preston in the loss of their 16-year-old son, Jett. My mom and dad lost my brother, Charles, two weeks before his 16th birthday. It's a heartbreak you never get over. I was 13 at the time and adored my brother who spoiled me rotten.

I wish we had all had grief counselling at the time, but alas, no one to my knowledge ever proposed such a thing. My dad was a traveling musician, and this totally changed the direction of his career.
It was back to playing guitar with a trio in finer restaurants in the Akron/Cleveland area to stay closer to home. I do believe this loss contributed to the early deaths of my parents.

I know that children are resilient, but I hope that John and Kelly's darling daughter, Ella Bleu, will be able to remember all the good times with her brother and not dwell on the events of his passing. For years, I felt guilty. Why not me instead, dear God? My brother had such a joie de vivre, and I was a rather mopey teenager at the time.

One of life's mysteries. All you can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep going. My prayers are with the Travoltas.