The Independent Platte ~ A New Voice For Platte County

When Words Fail Us Both

by Cody Kilgore

Grief is odd. It is disturbing to feel, to experience, and it is often difficult for many to just be near. It makes people uncomfortable speaking about it; we are sometimes not really sure what to say in situations of others’ grief, and when we do, we intuitively know that whatever we say cannot equate with the intensity of their emotional experience.

Take, for instance, the interaction I had with friends and acquaintances and peers the first week I returned to work following my father’s funeral. Most conversations began something like this:

“I’m sorry to hear about your father.”

It’s a perfectly normal thing to say, and I appreciated the sentiments of everyone who took the time to express them. But, as the week wore on and I would have first, or chance, encounters with people, it seemed as if they all had the same thing to say.

“I’m sorry to hear about your father.” Continue reading »

A Grandfather is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a lot of best friend

by Chrissy Gibson

I miss my Papa every single day. I catch myself randomly smiling or laughing over a thought or memory of him many times a day. He was and is one of the greatest and most selfless beings my life will ever be blessed with. I have had a rough couple of weeks. Nothing major…just have felt a little off…a little sad. “I guess that’s why they call them the blues.” When I got home earlier this week Steve said, “Come outside, I have to show you something.” We have lived in our house almost three years now. I remember the first time my Papa came to visit he was so excited to see Peach trees in our yard. He lived most his life in sunny Florida and always had a yard full of fruit trees. For two years he waited for one of our peaches. We pruned, and nurtured those trees the best we could in hopes that Papa would get his peach, but not one came. It’s been almost 9 months now that he has been gone. When I followed Steve outside that day, I didn’t expect him to walk me to the peach trees, and when I looked up I could not believe my eyes. Our three peach trees were covered….covered…covered in little fuzzy green peaches! Needless to say “my blues” were instantly gone.  I don’t think my heart has skipped that fast since…well probably since my son’s last wrestling match.  But I just knew he was with me, almost as if I were holding his hand, better yet, he was holding mine, and this was his way of telling me “I’m looking out for you.”   Continue reading »