Henry Louis Granju

We hear all too often of terrible tragedies that happen to families...some we know, some we don't.  And sometimes its just easier to protect ourselves from the pain...to not imagine what others are feeling or going through.  But sometimes, I hear of something another family is going through and I can't stop myself from reading all of it; every horrible excrutiating detail.  I don't know why I do it.  Maybe I need to be reminded of how lucky I am for all I have, and how fragile life is.  Maybe if we don't allow ourselves to pause from our own happiness and feel the pain someone else is feeling, we lose the ability to empathize.  Maybe if we aren't aware of the pain others are feeling, we take all the good things for granted.  Sometimes, I think we just need to be reminded life is astoundingly beautiful, and very difficult.

A few weeks ago, I came across this blog. I don't know this family but the mothers' words gripped me tightly and didn't let go.  It was too painful to read more than a couple of posts. I felt sick.  I shut it down with no intention of ever going back. 

And now here I am today, pulled back to her words, reading her latest updates and wondering how its possible she is surviving through this.  Writing about it with such grace and beauty.  The thought of losing your son after 18 years of nurturing him, teaching him, loving him, hugging him.   Losing him in such a senseless, harsh, cold, cruel way. 

Its just impossible to make any sense of it at all. 

I ache for this mom.  In her pain, she is doing a wonderful thing.  The family has established an endowed fund that will provide scholarships for families who cannot afford to pay for needed drug and alcohol treatment programs for their children.


The Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund
c/o Administrator: James Anderson
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
2000 Meridian Blvd. Suite 290
Franklin, TN 37067

Maybe by posting this, a few more people will read about Henry and a few more dollars will go to help an addicted child in need.

I pray that I never face this kind of tragedy in my own family.  I can't bear the thought of it.