I stumbled upon an article on the history of mourning clothes a couple of weeks ago.  Then I spent an inordinate amount of time in a Google abyss reading article after article.  I have been thinking about what I read since then and I thought some of you might find it interesting. In Victorian times the custom was for women to wear to wear black for two years after the loss of a loved one.  The first year the fabric was of a matte finish; the second year black satin or black lace could be added. After the two year period, women went into “half-mourning”; they could begin to add mauve or lavender to their wardrobe.  Jewelry was to be kept to a minimum with a black matte finish. Men in Victorian times wore black pants and coats.  As they re-entered the work world they would wear a black armband on the sleeve.  Even Victorian children were dressed in black for a specified...

My first Mother’s Day was in 1987.  I was three months away from giving birth to my first baby.  The anticipation about who this little baby would be, what his personality would be like and how his arrival would turn a couple into a family was exciting. Everywhere I look in my home I am reminded of his existence in our family.  I open a drawer and I find a CD of a music artist he liked.  I open a closet and I see remnants of a life that included baseball and tennis trophies, high school art portfolios, and clothes that will never be worn again.  I open small boxes that I have stuffed with Wolf Photo envelopes full of photographs from his childhood and it transports me to a moment in time.  It is virtually impossible to look in any corner, cabinet, or closet without seeing a trace of his life.  He is literally everywhere I look.  I don’t go looking for these things; they...