Saturday, February 25, 2012

     Some of us were really affected by the recent death of Whitney Houston; others, not so much. She was a phenomenal singer who left us with an outstanding collection of music and I enjoyed the time that she spent with us.
     She was not perfect, as none of us are, but, in my opinion, she was definitely special; and that is all I will say about that. Her death had me thinking about my own mortality and my legacy, my children. I thought of Bobbi Kristina and my heart breaks for her. Surely, she is not the only child who has lost a parent at a young age and I pray that she gets the love and support that she needs to get through this very difficult period of her life.
    I had been thinking, also, about the wife of the former NFL player who had a possible stroke or brain aneurysm and passed away suddenly at the age of 29, leaving behind a 4 month old as well as one other young child. 
    I had begun to wonder, how do we prepare our children for our passing? Do we really prepare them or do we just avoid the subject? Granted, it is a very difficult subject for many of us but it is after all, inevitable. My daughters, who are teens, told me that they would not, could not handle it if something were to happen to me. That disturbs me more than anything. I certainly do not want them to break down and become incapacitated. I want them to continue to live, to succeed and to be brilliant. I want them to be representatives of me. Without having too much discussion, I need to let my children know that they must be strong and continue on, remembering that I am forever a part of them. When do you think you should talk with your children about this very sensitive subject? What would you, do you say?