Read personal stories from our founder and Jennifer's mommy, Libby, along with other Warrior Moms and news from our Unravel team.

Welcome to the Unravel Blog

balancing emotions

July 6, 2015

I started cleaning out her room. I think just getting out my fears and my emotions in the last blog readied me to do it. I had thought of it all.. balanced mine and Tonys dueling emotions. I haven’t cried like this is a long time. Day after day of intense crying. I think now I am just emptied.. drained.

I can’t believe how hard it can be 16 months out. I know logically its nothing in a lifetime without her.. I know how unnatural it is to lose a child so I shouldn’t expect the grief to be anything remotely like what I have know before.. But still it surprises me how voracious.. how violent the grief can be. Broken blood vessels .. my shirt soaked down the front. And this time something new. My body so opposed to what it was taking in I threw up.. again and again.

My parents had the boys and Charlotte was here with me.. so during her nap I just started doing it. When I started I moved a few things on her dresser and found a picture Jonathan drew for her. His drawings have changed in the last 3 months so I knew it was older than that.. Of him and her together.. At some point he brought it in her room and put it in a safe spot. Without telling anybody. I put it back because I knew I needed to make time for us to look at it and decide what to do with it together.

But that. That simple gesture of love and missing his sister started me off in a aching emotional state.

I had forgotten about how he might have made connections in that room.. balance of his emotions.

Opening her drawers. Taking one item out at a time. Holding them, remembering her wearing them. I took a lot of pictures. I folded them up carefully. One at a time. Savoring my time with them. Talking to Jennifer .. talking to God.

Clothing that took me back to her treatments.. to our special time. A bittersweet time.

Clothing that took me back to her treatments.. to our special time. A bittersweet time.

Wondering. Questioning. Struggling. Begging

And clothes from before we had any idea that less than 6 months after this photo was taken she would not only be diagnosed with cancer.. but be gone.

And clothes from before we had any idea that less than 6 months after this photo was taken she would not only be diagnosed with cancer.. but be killed by it. 

I do that a lot. For a woman with an intense amount of pride I beg now.. a lot. Even though I know I will never get the result I so long for I simply cannot help it. Logic be damned, this is my grief I guess.

I was almost shocked the first time I threw up. It wasn’t even from crying.. It was just a violent disagreement to seeing these tiny clothes.. That she never outgrew. Some with tags still on.. inside out in her drawers. She tried them on but decided not to wear them that day.. and never got the chance to.

I think I can safely say numb is gone.

I felt like she gave me a few signs. .. Me asking questions and the next shirt I pulled out seeming to answer it and the last shirt I pulled out being one of mine that she took over for herself.. to wear when she missed me at night. .

But I did it. And then Charlotte woke up and we finished up together. We talked about it becoming her room one day. She told me in her toddler talk that she wanted Jennifer’s desk. She went to it and said “mine. my desk. cha-lets.”

So I told her yes. .. to balance her emotions.

Sisters. Jennifer was so happy to have a sister. It helps us to know how much she would have liked to have shared a room with  her.

Sisters. Jennifer was so happy to have a sister. It helps us to know how much she would have liked to have shared a room with her.

We got dressers moved and shelves hung.. a really strong start.

The boys came home. I had told them we were going to start working on this project… I was mostly worried about how it might impact Jonathan. I was wrong.

Nicholas. Oh this boy of mine..always throwing me for a loop. He reminded me of a college kid having a sit in.. chaining himself to a tree. He was just matter of fact about it all.

no. No Mom. We aren’t doing that.

huh.. what??

His emotions about it all. Forceful and subdued. I really hadn’t considered his.

We were so unprepared for that reaction and so strong. And surprisingly for him, it wasn’t just the room changing .. I was able to come to a middle ground on that by calling it Jennifer and Charlottes room. .. it was her bed. He was just so strong in not wanting us to move it from the room.

He was so young. But he loved her so much. This was their special thing they only did together. And they both loved it!

He was so young. But he loved her so much. This was their special thing they only did together. And they both loved it!

He even went so far as to measure out Charlottes crib to show me how it could fit with Jennifer’s bed.. but when I showed him the rest of the furniture he started to get it.

We have some more potential solutions in the works.. to try to balance all these swirling emotions that are hard for us adults to properly express or even understand… How much harder it must be as a 3 year old.

 

 

Mine was so intense I am still sore from the physicality of my grief.. and Tony has a cabinet or two to try to fix because he accidentally ripped them off the wall. .. As much as I wish we were always the ones teaching them.. I know we have so much to learn from them.

thank you for teaching me

what matters.

you. them.

and then everything else.

gonenumb5

…until there is a cure..

  1. Jennifer says:

    So many prayers sent your way. Again- such a heartbreaking post. That last picture of Jennifer is absolutely beautiful. LOVE4JLK

  2. Linda Blundo says:

    My heart aches for you Libby so much so. Jennifer is missed so very very much. She is so loved by so many. She will never be forgotten. For them because of her. ♡

  3. Debbie says:

    Because of Jennifer I see the reality of children gone too soon, because of Jennifer my eyes and heart are open. Because of Jennifer I can no longer hide my head in the sand, I pray, I cry, I follow, I try in my limited fashion to support families with children fighting cancer. I give of myself…because of Jennifer, and for you and all the parents and siblings that have faced the loss of their precious child I wish it was over, the cures for pediatric cancers were found…until they are, I will continue…because of Jennifer. <3

  4. Leah says:

    Sending love.

  5. Kristina says:

    Sending your family lots of love and strength during this hard transition.

  6. Esther McKee says:

    Always thinking of your family. So much love for the entire Kranz family.

  7. Erika M says:

    Heart is sore. So sore.

  8. Lisa Jack says:

    What emotional turmoil this must be for all of you. Prayers for the best possible solution.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join our Newsletter

submit

Contact

Fluttering

Unravel Team

Get Involved

Upcoming Events

links

Stay Connected

follow on instagram @unravelcancer

follow us on facebook 

© 2024 Unravel Pediatric Cancer, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. EIN: 46-5720960

Join our Newsletter

Contact

Fluttering

Unravel Team

Get Involved

Upcoming Events

links

Stay Connected

follow on instagram @unravelcancer

follow us on facebook 

Thanks for joining the unravel newsletter!