By Carol Loehr —

It was Valentine’s Day and Keith was five years old. We talked about Valentine’s Day, but Keith forgot the day was special for his mother. I gently reminded him that I didn’t get a Valentine from my special son.

Keith just smiled, with those twinkling eyes and said, “Wait just a minute Mom.” He ran up the stairs to his room and within minutes, he was back down. He had made a Valentine’s Day card for me. The card was a simple red heart and it said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom!”

Inside the card Keith wrote: “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I have no money so I made a card for you.”

Some of us have kept those treasures from our children. Each one reminds of us our child and those memories become a part of us. Keith has been dead for over nine years. However, on Valentine’s Day, I will place Keith’s card on a special shelf and will wish Keith a Happy Valentine’s Day filled with my love.

Carol Loehr can be reached through her website, www.thegiftofkeith.com

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Carol Loehr

Carol Loehr is the author of My Uncle Keith Died (Trafford), which addresses children’s questions about suicide and depression. Carol’s only son, Keith Loehr, died at the age of 29 by suicide in 1999. Carol has been an elementary and special-education teacher. She created and continues to maintain www.TheGiftofKeith.org, a web site to help comfort and educate survivors of suicide, as well as clergy, health care professionals, and counselors. Carol appeared on the radio show “Healing the Grieving Heart” discussing “Honoring a Child Who Died By Suicide.” To hear Carol being interviewed on this show by Dr. Gloria & Dr. Heidi Horsley, click on the following link: www.voiceamericapd.com/health/010157/horsley100605.mp3

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