For Children Who Lost a Parent, the Pandemic Pain Will Never End
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Justise McGowan pulls a baking sheet of cookies from the oven, a tradition she shared with her father, March 15, 2022.
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Justise McGowan completes school work virtually at her mother's, office in Flossmoor, Illinois, March 17, 2022.
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Brothers Julius and Aidan Garza say a prayer in honor of their father at a restaurant in Converse, Texas, March 30, 2022.
'Never forget'
Not long ago as he walked home from his school bus stop, a blue jay appeared in Aidan Garza's path. It was so beautiful, "I didn't think it was real," he said. "It was so calm, not feisty like the other ones."
Aidan swears that his dad has taken to inhabiting blue jays to keep watch over him.
The boy peppers his conversations about his dad with the lessons he has learned from therapy, which he and his brother have received since their dad died, on how to confront his grief. In talking about his heart and how much he should be thinking about his dad, Aidan says "we always got to save a little spot for him - and a big spot for emotions."
Aidan's brother, Julius, has trouble with that one.
'Never forget'
Not long ago as he walked home from his school bus stop, a blue jay appeared in Aidan Garza's path. It was so beautiful, "I didn't think it was real," he said. "It was so calm, not feisty like the other ones."
Aidan swears that his dad has taken to inhabiting blue jays to keep watch over him.
The boy peppers his conversations about his dad with the lessons he has learned from therapy, which he and his brother have received since their dad died, on how to confront his grief. In talking about his heart and how much he should be thinking about his dad, Aidan says "we always got to save a little spot for him - and a big spot for emotions."
Aidan's brother, Julius, has trouble with that one.
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Margaret (L), Aidan, (C) and Julius Garza, (R) sit down for dinner Feb. 27, 2022, in Converse, Texas.
At 14, Aidan remembers more than his brother about what life was like before that day late in 2015 when Margaret and David Garza adopted the boys.
Their birth mother had abandoned them. Their birth father was sent to prison for abusing their stepsister, pushing them into the foster care system. Julius is struggling to understand losing David after all he went through.
At 14, Aidan remembers more than his brother about what life was like before that day late in 2015 when Margaret and David Garza adopted the boys.
Their birth mother had abandoned them. Their birth father was sent to prison for abusing their stepsister, pushing them into the foster care system. Julius is struggling to understand losing David after all he went through.