It’s no secret why I started blogging. I’ve not exactly hid the fact that my almost five year old son dropped dead suddenly, leaving me adrift in the middle of an ocean of grief.
I started blogging at first, as a way to document my grief for my kids, so they would understand when they were adults why their mother is bat shit crazy.
But I quickly realized if I kept documenting my grief I was ignoring the light that was trying to shine through and lift me from the pain. So I swiftly shifted gears and switched my focus from examining my pain to reveling in the delights of life.
Cuz there is nothing more delightful than vaginal waxing gone wrong, nipple rings being ripped out and public nudity. Oh, the joys.
It’s all dildos and dead kids, and I’m cool with that, because that is my reality now, whether I want it or not. Welcome to my life.
(Feel free to run away screaming. I do it on a regular basis. Heh.)
I never actually started blogging as a ways of reaching out to others. But I won’t lie to you and tell you I wasn’t delighted to become part of this large, fluid community and find the support I was unable to find or feel in my real life.
These relationships, some deeper and truer than others, have done what time alone, couldn’t. They’ve helped heal my fractured soul and helped remind of the person I once was, the person I hoped to one day become once more.
Of course I realize I can no longer be the Tanis I was before Oct.21, 2005. She no longer exists. She was buried along side her son.
But I’m no longer the shell of the person I was, huddled in fetal position, staring at the sky and wondering if the pain will ever dissipate long enough for me to feel joy, to feel blessed.
Blogging has become a huge part of the Tanis of today. It has tested my boundaries, my creativity and some times, my intelligence.
The words I’ve read have amused me, educated me, enlightened me or even annoyed me. But what ever it was, it made me feel. I was no longer a numb carcass, pretending to go through the motions of life.
I have made some of the best friends of my life while hiding behind my computer screen. Friendships that will last the test of time and distance. Friendships that would never have been possible if it weren’t for Al Gore giving us the internet and a couple of geeks building a box known as a computer.
However, that said, I also have spent more time in front of my computer screen than pulling weeds in my garden, cleaning my house or running naked through the woods.
It’s hard to find a balance. I worry my kids will grow up remembering their mother’s image as nothing but the back of my head reflected in the soft glow of a computer screen, instead of my laughing smile aimed at them.
I also worry that my laptop will grow permanently attached to the tops of my thighs and I will have to waddle into the emergency room, pathetic and embarrassed and have to beg them to carve it off. Nothing more prominent to point out your internet geekiness like having a laptop welded to your legs.
Gives a whole new meaning to walking bow-legged.
Heh.
I blog now, for my amusement. To kill time while waiting for my family to expand. To whittle the hours away while I sit at home, watching my children argue over who has to wash the dishes and who gets to dry, waiting for my Boo’s return home to take his rightful place as ruler of this kingdom.
I keep blogging to reach out to the parents out there who are afraid of raising a handicapped child, or fearing the unknown of what the future holds for their kids. I blog to let parents know it is okay if the unthinkable happens, if one day they have to stand before a granite marker and weep.
They will survive. I did. It’s not always pretty, and it’s not easy, but it is possible.
Nothing is impossible.
Well, nothing except for the possibility of me becoming more famous than Dooce. Hell, it’s not impossible, it’s just highly unlikely.
I blog to remind myself and everyone who stumbles across my blog, there is nothing more important in life than love. To keep loving even when you feel you can’t. To always remember to find joy in your day. Whether it’s getting a nice email, a million blog hits or finding a five dollar bill crumpled in an old coat pocket. It’s all joy.
I want people to know to that sometimes all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and try not to stumble. But joy will find you. In the most unlikely places.
Like a little blog on the internet.
You, all of you, yes, even you Danny Evans, are my joy.
Thank you for that.
Public service announcement done for the day. Go forth and find joy. I know I am.






Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 16:42
Woman, YOU are part of the great joy I’ve found here in Al Gore’s pants.
Salt of the earth, you are. I love ya.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 17:13
*standing, clapping & whistling wildly*
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 17:31
*giant grin*
I’m glad you’re in the blogosphere.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 18:07
I have to tell you girl, that you are such an inspiration to those who suffer, those who are enlightened and to those who just need a good laugh everyday or so. I look forward to meeting you one day. Perhaps you’ll never be as famous as Dooce, but there are those of us who achieve to be like you.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 18:12
I am very thankful you continue to blog. You crack me up on a daily basis and I love your outlook on life.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 18:15
Yeah…what would we do without the community of the internetz…me..I would go batshit crazy. Or crazier.
But my house would be clean.
The support and friendship I have found have been amazing….
It brings Joy..you are so right.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 18:17
I love you.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 18:47
You know how I feel. Everything you said, and more, times a trillion.
XOXOXOX
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:06
I’m not trying to be critical, but your latest entry tells me — as a novice — that you need support. Because your latest entry seems troubled and filled with angst. Stuff that you have not delt with. Me, I’ve had my issues wih my (loving) wife of 18 years who dief of melamonia, but, I do not think in your case you have moved on about your son. No disrespect… Stand back, stop being a blog star for awhile, and get yourself together.
For what it’s worth. I think you need more healing.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:33
Ron,
I’m sure anyone would appreciate a caring comment that shows concern about whether they are having a hard time healing emotionally after a great loss. But no one appreciate you sitting on your pseudo-psychologist’s armchair and leaning forward to give your unsolicited advice on what is and isn’t appropriate for someone to feel about things they have experienced. People who think that we should all deal with grief in the same way and on the same timetable are ridiculously moronic.
Don’t be ridiculously moronic, okay?
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:37
High Fiver to Lotus with the virtual SMACKDOWN!!!!!!!!
For the record: I would have said the same thing, with a lot more fucks and shits and asses in there.
Stuff it Ron.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:41
Woo Hoo! You go girl! I’m uber impressed with the way you handled Asshat Ron.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:41
Yep, Lotus summed it up pretty well.
Step back- from friends, from people who love her, support her and would do anything for her?
As Lotus said, Ridiculous!
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:42
Ron, did you actually READ this post? She kind of just said, repeatedly, that she writes this blog BECAUSE of the support. SO that she can heal.
And, dear, she’s never going to move on about her son. It wasn’t a JOB she lost. You don’t move on when someone who grew inside of you dies. You PRESS on, you don’t move on. Tanis is pressing on as hard as a mother could.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 19:49
Ron,
Umm, this is part of her healing. Writing, reaching out…all part of it. I know this woman personally and she is pretty damn together – more together than someone who would think it appropriate to jump onto a web site, read a lovely heartfelt thank you and interpret it as someone simply trying to be an internet rock star.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:04
Ron -
You’re obviously barking up the wrong tree… clicked the wrong link… or whatever.
Tanis wears her Big Girl Pants quite confidently and I think she knows what she needs a little more than you do.
The next time you go speak to your therapist, I highly suggest that you bring up your inability to identify the needs of others. Oh, and also your inability to mind your own fucking business.
Much Love,
Dani
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:08
Douchebaggery of this level has no business here. Ron can just suck it!
Tanis, your words are beautiful as is your amazing story. You are inspiring.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:13
Ron…
As a mother who lost a two year old EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO in a tragic pedestrian vs. truck accident, I can assure you, no, I PROMISE you, you NEVER MOVE ON.
You move forward.
But you NEVER EVER move on.
Losing a wife, whilst a horrible loss and I’m not trying to demean that painful loss in any way, is not the same as burying a child. You bury yourself with your child. A part of you, no matter how much moving forward you do, will never be reclaimed, yet will always lay at rest beneath the soil, with your child.
One of the most unnatural things in the world is to bury your child.
The pain never leaves. You just find ways of coping with it so that it doesn’t drag you under. You find meaning in new things to cope with the senseless loss that had no meaning.
I take personal offense at your comment whilst not directed at me.
Tanis doesn’t even know me (although I’ve lurked here for the better part of a year), and probably doesn’t even know my blog exists nor has she probably ever read anything else I’ve written over the years. It matters little to me because in her voice I have found a kinship of grief, loss, pain, sorrow and a friendship that no other mother who has not suffered this loss will never know…hopefully ever!
How dare you, HOW DARE YOU contradict yourself and say ” no disrespect” and then slam her not a breath later and tell her to stand back and imply that her status as a gifted writer, friend, confidante, and so many other things, is some sort of facade because she isn’t/hasn’t/wont deal with the loss of her son. You have a very warped perception of the human coping mechanisms if you think she wants to be an internet “rock star” in order to avoid dealing with the loss of her child.
There is no such thing as Cliff’s Notes for dealing with grief. We all do it in our own way, on our own timetable and in whatever way gets us from one day to the next…for some of us it’s from one minute to the next.
Tanis, I’m sorry for pissing all over your blog. This sort of ignorance and lack of compassion touches a very sensitive nerve, as you can imagine.
On a personal note, your words about your journey with your beautiful son have reached deep inside me and touched a part of my soul which still aches with missing my Joshua.
I’m immensely grateful that you’ve opened up that part of your life. I am only just now able to openly write about the pain and the loss. I’m deeply appreciative for voices like yours, filled with love, humour and a rich sensitivity that speak to mothers like myself, who carry the loss of a child around with them like a permanent tattoo across the heart and soul.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:14
Tanis, I love your freakin’ honesty. You inspire me because of all that you have gone through you still find the joy in life. You are contagious and I truly love reading your blog.
Having said that, do you want me to kick Ron’s ass? ‘Cause I so will.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:19
Ron,
Everyone grieves in their own way. Tanis chooses to write about the pain, humor, angst, love and terror of her situation, it’s how she deals with it. Stepping back worked for you, great. It doesn’t work for everyone. If Tanis shows just one person that it’s OK to reach out in this manner and deal with grief in this way, then she has contributed more in these simple words on this screen than all the therapists in the world combined. And as is apparent by your baseless and crass words, certainly more than you.
Should you ever find yourself in the Heart of Dixie Ron, feel free to stop by. We can play a nice rousing game of hide-and-go fuck yourself. Or I can make you squeal like a pig. Your choice.
(Sorry T, I couldn’t help that last part.)
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:26
This was one of those days where you feel whacked over the head with a frying pan of grief out of the blue.
Thanks for making me smile during it.
Love you, woman.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:31
I love reading your blog for this very reason.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 20:32
Thanks for baring your soul to us. And your ass to the neighborhood. hehe. And thanks for letting us know that it does get better. We big bloggy love you, too!
http://notesfromthesleepdeprived.blogspot.com
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 21:19
Thank you. That was beautiful.
Best wishes for the adoption to move along smoothly!
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 21:28
Tanis,
Gracias, Chiquita.
Namaste.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 21:35
I knew there was a reason why I keep coming back here. You are a wonderful writer and, more importantly, a wonderful person. Do whatever it is you need to do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If this blog helps you to do that, then we ALL win. You’re one of my very favourite reads.
Your beautiful little bug died on my daughter’s first birthday. Just that date alone has struck the pain of your loss even more deeply into my heart. Despite one very close call, I still have both of my children and it’s a precious gift that I try very hard never to take for granted.
Thank you for writing from the heart – something so difficult to do that I often shy away from it just to stop myself from feeling everything so deeply. I wish you every happiness and the strength to keep moving forward.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 21:56
I’m only sorry that I didn’t start reading you sooner. Where the hell was I? I hope this isn’t too forward but I think you’re kinda neat-o.
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 22:21
Tanis I lurve you! Thank you for your writing and your reminder to find joy in life. It can be all too easy to get caught up in day to day drudgery and forget that it is out there waiting to be savoured. I’d sign up for blogher just in the hopes of meeting you.
ps. You are hawt!
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 22:47
Confession: First time blog-reader
Luck: Found yours in the wee hours while doing some work-related research…
Actually it was your “Missing My Bug” blog, which I read, I think, in its entirety from start to finish…and was a sobbing, heap of a mess with impaired vision from the tears and snorkeling/chortling nose so loud that it woke my pooch who was snoring away in another room. After numerous “runs to the bathroom to splash my face off with water”…and using the better part of a roll of toilet paper…I had completed your blog. (Thank God none of the kids or hubby got up…they may have had me carried away!) While I haven’t yet mentioned the purplish sploches on my face around my eyes…they did go away by morning, which came much too soon after hitting the hay at 3 a.m. I went to work looking like I had been punched in both eyes. Once I got drawn in, I could not stop.
Your BUG was precious and just BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT beyond our understanding, and I can see how very devoted you were and continue to be to him! He was lucky to have you, as it is clear you adored him. I know that you were lucky to have him, too.
Funny, but I have a BUG, too (that is what we have called him since the beginning, and the name fits more than anything)…not with the same issues your BUG had…but we do manage to spend the better part of some days getting MRI’s and echocardiograms (due to a few wiring “glitches”, which we found out about by 9 mos. of age)
You have such an incredible gift to reach in and grab people’s hearts. Your honesty is refreshing…I found myself reading Redneck Mommy with an equally intense emotional response…only with gut-splitting laughter! You are truly the QUEEN of BLOG!
What a healing journey your blog has taken you on. Only, in helping yourself, I believe you have benefited others to an even greater degree. So, Shalebug continues to impact lives from beyond…his legacy continues. My condolences on your loss…he had more chutzpah than some that live into their golden years. His time was short, but his message not so!
Hugs~
Wendy
Friday, 1 August, 2008 at 23:04
It’s ironic… I’ve been thinking about you all day.
I won’t pretend to know what you’ve gone through, because I don’t, but 2 years ago today we were told by doctors our youngest son may have leukemia. When I sat down today to write about it, I couldn’t… my mind drew a complete blank, and I wondered how in the hell you did it.
He’s fine now, but I had a glimpse of what life would have been like otherwise, and I’ll never forget the hell we went through.
I am so sorry for you, your family, and most of all, your Bug. I admire your strength, your honesty, and your courage… you are an inspiration to us all.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 0:38
Chick, today I needed this post more than ever. Girl, you made me cry.
I love you.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 0:50
Yeah, me again… went back to read the comments. And day-um. Why is it the dicks that think they know everything, NEVER EVER leave a blog to visit?
I had one today. The tool left his blog addy. And my biatches are visiting in droves to kick some moron arse. Turns out he is a 14 year old kid. *snort*
Ron, perhaps before commenting on someones level of healing or mental health, perhaps you need to read more than one freaking post. T, if you have his email addy, I would like to have a chat with him.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 6:31
Hey – I’m new here. Not sure how I stumbled onto you, but glad I did. I totally enjoy your raw honesty. It’s quite refreshing.
And holy hell, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. THAT is a mother’s worst nightmare. Your blog will give others hope that a new day will come and they will still breathe. . . even though it doesn’t feel like it. I applaud your bravery for being so open and sharing your heart.
I’ll be back for sure. . . on a regular basis.
You’ve got another new fan. One new fan at a time and you may reach Dooce popularity afterall. “Nothing is impossible.” I think I read that somewhere.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 6:50
You are a beautiful person, inside and out. I can’t understand what you have been through, I won’t pretend to. I was just drawn to you and your Bug. I stumbled on to your Bug web site about a year ago. I don’t know how. Then recently I stumbled on this website and I was like OMG here she is! Thank you for reality
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 6:55
The world needs more people like you. Your graciousness astounds me.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 7:05
Tanis,
Your honesty and ability to share something so painful has helped more people than you’ll ever know. Enough Said?
Many thanks.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 7:10
Whew. I was afraid you were checking out on us there. Another blogger I read has thrown in the towel after returning from BlogHer. I was afraid you were next. I thought it was a new wave movement. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 7:34
I’m so glad you do what you do, T.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 9:45
All dildos and dead kids…
OMG, only you can make me want to cry and give a hearty guffaw at the same time.
You have skillz.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 10:01
Thank you for that great reminder…life gets incredibly heavy and that was much-needed.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 11:30
Much, much love to you dear amazing lady.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 12:19
Delurking to say I have read and bloggy loved you from afar for a long time. Thanks for sharing your joy with us.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 13:27
Just a big, emphatic nod and a lump in my throat.
So true, love, so true.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 13:33
That was pretty moving. I know how important it is to stay positive, especially for others.
As a new father-to-be, I will make sure I keep your words of wisdom i the front of my mind…
Thank yiou again for sharing!
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 16:06
This is so freaking awesome. As far as I am concerned, be a blog star. You’v earned it. And because of people like you, not being afraid of raising a handicapped child, I can do my job easier, because I have to raise a handicapped child. You are part of my support system because you make me feel normal. If there is such a thing.
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 18:02
Saturday, 2 August, 2008 at 20:13
Mwah!
Sunday, 3 August, 2008 at 5:07
Dear me… this started off with such a lovely post and then I made the mistake of reading some of the comments…
To focus on you, Tanis… love your work girl. You make me smile, give me insight into a painful world of grief and help arm me somewhat for standing by those around me walking a similar road. Your humour and humanity and sheer ability to take the piss (out of yourself) is disarming and wonderful. I love that you are living, not just existing. Power to you!
I enjoy. Thanks.
BB
Sunday, 3 August, 2008 at 10:56
Healing is a long painful road and thank you for allowing us to travel it with you. You’ve made me laugh and made me cry. Take care sweetie.
Sunday, 3 August, 2008 at 13:39
I love you. And I have to admit that I’m very sad I didn’t get to see your boobies at the spa thing.