QTV Sweet Life on A Child’s Grief
I declined to appear in the Sweet Life Episode on “Comforting the Bereaved” for Lorna Tolentino’s friends. My last TV appearances left me disillusioned with anything showbiz in it. Despite the tragic elements in my life, I cannot stand embellishments injected into my life story. The segment producer tapped me to be the resource person for “A Child’s Grief” and I hemmed and hawed. I then remembered that grief education is part of my mission in life so I agreed in the end.
The guests were two young women, widowed in their mid-twenties. The focus of the segment was comforting their bereaved children. I discussed some creative projects and self-care. Every now and then I had to butt in and correct some misconceptions on Grief Recovery. Lucy Torres is quite smart but I don’t know what to make of Wilma Doesnt, her co-host. At the end of the show, I handed my calling card to the two widows. Wilma looked at me backing off as if I had some communicable disease don’t give me a calling card in half-joking/serious tone. Well, I told her I didn’t plan on giving you anyway but she kept repeating it. What the??
Apparently, she found the show’s theme so heavy and depressing that she kept whining about it. To think I was there to educate them about Child’s grief.
Since my portion covered less than 6 minutes (they practically cut half of that segment and concentrated more on Lorna Tolentino’s grief), I want to add more details that were not really discussed and which parents and guardians of a bereaved child might find useful.
Imagine two terminally ill men, a billionaire and a mechanic, realizing that they both share a passion to accomplish unfulfilled dreams until they ““kick the bucket.” “The Bucket List” refers to a wish list that these two men try to fulfill before each kicks the bucket. After they break out of a cancer ward, they head off on the road trip of a lifetime with an itinerary that includes racing cars, eating giant plates of caviar and slinging poker chips in Monte Carlo, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest. Each goal that is accomplished is ticked off the “bucket list”, and they realize that this adventure is what defines them as human beings and gives them the joy that had been quite elusive in the past.