Remembering First Lady Barbara Bush as a bereaved mother
by Tara Shafer posted in Parenting
This weekend, Former-First Lady Barbara Bush was laid to rest at 92 years old. She will be remembered for many things, including an impressive record of public service on behalf of causes to better the lives of children including anti-poverty programs, family literacy, and much more.
Barbara Bush was also a bereaved mother. While it is not my place to speculate (respect prevents me from trying) on the connection between her activities on behalf of children and families, and the loss of her own daughter, I do not think it is a coincidence.
Finding meaning in loss is often a distinguishing characteristic between those parents who make a complex peace with unfathomable loss, and those who struggle to do so. In 1953, while living in Texas, 3-year old Pauline Robinson ?Robin? Bush complained of fatigue. Several days later, the family pediatrician diagnosed the little girl with leukemia and told her bereft parents, Future-President Bush and Future-First Lady Barbara Bush, that her prognosis was bleak.
Barbara and George Bush refused to accept the diagnosis without a fight. They flew to New York and sought then-cutting edge treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. Barbara sat by Robin?s bedside for months on end while continuing still, to parent her healthy older boys.
Robin Bush died in October 1953, following a months-long hospital stay. The First Lady was open about the grief that consumed her family, and how she felt blessed that t...
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