CatholicMom.com Columnist Susan Handle Terbay

Today A Son, Brother and Daddy Comes Home
by Susan Terbay

Today my son returns home from the wars – never to go back again. Because of the circumstances within his family these past few months, he can now concentrate on being ‘daddy’. Because of multiple deployments to the war zones, he has been denied so many moments in his little ones' lives. Five years is a lifetime for a toddler and only having daddy for 18 months out of those five years is an eternity.

Yesterday I spent time with his son, my youngest grandchild. The time now has come for healing of this young family – and maybe it begins with a child’s trust…

A Child’s Trust

We walk down the sidewalk; his little hand holding onto mine. I take my thumb and gently rub the top of his so smooth, so little, so trusting hand. His grip is strong – not frighten holding on – nor is it flimsy as in a reluctance to take hold. It is the hand of a child willing to go wherever this walk takes us.

He grows tired, so I pick him up and carry him. Again, he holds – not a frightening grip or a reluctant grasp but a trusting hold.

I sing my song to him – one I made up when he was only a few days old. He recognizes the melody and listens.

We return to the porch – the place where we began our walk. He’s tired. We sit on the swing. He curls up next to me, secure under my arm. While we swing I play with the curls on top of his head and whisper to him how much I love him.

Slowly he gives way to the rhythm of the swinging, the touch my fingers, and the sound of my voice. Safely he falls asleep in my arms. I cradle him for a little while, treasuring this pure moment of love, then gently I pick him up, lay him on the couch and sit, watching over him as he sleeps.

By Susan Handle Terbay

10/07/08

Recent Archives:

Part I - Human Trafficking
Part II - Human Trafficking
Part III - Human Trafficking

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Susan Handle Terbay is co-author of Gifts: Two Hospice Professionals
Reveal Messages From Those Passing On. She is the mother of six and also a grandmother. Susan serves as administrative assistant to the deputy superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Amazing Grace for Mothers features a story by Susan about the death of her own mother. She shares, "There is a sisterhood among women who lose their mothers as a child. It is a pivotal moment that leaves a hole in your heart that never gets filled; an emptiness and longing. The title of my story is In Search of my Mother. All my life I have searched for her in other women. That moment in my life changed me forever and has created the path I now journey. Through my work with children's grief groups I was able to reach out and understand their pain and tried to give them hope to continue their paths."

A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul
by Holly Pierlot
Read More about this Book Club Selection

Susan shares the following about her writing:

As I look back over my life I have come to some profound conclusions. The most valuable gift both given and received is love. Throughout my life I have been blest with the wisdom of children, the wisdom of the elderly and especially the wisdom of the dying. Not one person on their death bed wished they had made more money or worked more hours. They all wished they would have spent more time with their loved ones, enjoyed the beauty of this world and taken a chance to love someone. I learned so much in my life and have faced some difficult challenges. I hope that maybe something I write touches another and reminds someone they are never alone in this world - someone understands, someone has been down the same path and always God is within each of us. Of all the experiences in my life the greatest gifts I have ever received were six precious lives who came into my life and forever changed me. . From the moment each were placed in my arms at their birth, my children have taught me about life and love. Now the gifts continue with my beautiful grandchildren as I await to listen to their stories yet to be told, and their wisdom yet to be learned. Motherhood is a gift - something to be treasured - always.

Susan Handle Terbay