I remember the day you were born, Sullivan, 21 years ago today. Driving to Emmaus with your mom and Mariana, arriving at the midwife’s office, and being up all night. Seeing you for the first time – I was so happy and scared at the same time. You weighed 7#11oz. – and 7-11 became one of your favorite stops. We took you home, our little bundle of energy.
Your energy and open personality were the first gifts you gave to me. Today, I will smoke the cigar you gave me last year on my birthday. This is not the last gift you gave me, as your words and the example of living honestly keep giving me more and more. I am looking for answers to the questions that continuously swirl through my mind. “What ifs” badger me as your sweet smile comforts me, knowing that you are at peace.
“You take a walk in my mind. You say I’m not there but I’m dreaming of all that’s to become…The riddle of the mind will be just” from “Minds Riddle”, words & music by Sullivan Burd
Glenn Burd's Blog ~ Word Doodles 
words of love
I am so sorry for your loss of such a loved son. I feel your grief. The only thing that I know to help with healing is the passing of time. You just have to keep going and some day in the future the wound will still hurt but it will not be wide open any longer. My husband and 4 year old son stumbled upon Sully’s rock yesterday while on an adventure together. We were curious and thus found this site.
I hope that you heal and find joy in life again.
Thank you for taking the time to visit the blog after visiting Sully’s Rock in the park. Many have contributed to this place, bringing unique stones and special memories with them.
As I wrote to a friend recently, this area” has always been a special place to my son as it is a secluded cathedral of nature with huge rock formations, fields of stones that run along the ridges, beside the Tohickon Creek and nestled in a majestic forest of native trees. My family feels it is an appropriate location to honor him, there where he would often go to find peace. We visit the boulders that we call “Sully’s Rock”, 2 – 3 times a week, often bringing family or close friends, as we find it comforting and peaceful and not a negative thing, as some may think.”
So many want to help us with our grief, offering advice and words of encouragement; I appreciate the intent behind the words. Some want us to be over the grief by now, wanting us to “move on”, maybe because it makes them uncomfortable to see us in pain. Yet others think, if they don’t talk about Sully, we will not feel the pain. In truth, we think about him all the time and appreciate being able to talk about him. But, this is a journey that we must walk with no defined destination or time limit and no true resolution. My wife, youngest son and I visit the rock often, sometimes laughing at a memory, and sometimes crying again over the “finalness” of this event — why did this happen to such a sweet boy? A friend who had also lost a son tragically said, “You never get over the loss, you just learn to live with the pain.” Now, over 9 months have passed, and I am just starting to understand the truth in these words.
Another discovery about this journey is that, however intense the pain and memory of loss, the rest of my life does continue. I have explored doubts and questioned faith, but that proved to strengthen the real beliefs I hold. I have learned to pray more, listen more and appreciate more the smiles of others. I am not depressed or pessimistic but still very upbeat and positive about my life, which may seem odd to those on the outside of this grief. But, at times of joy and happiness, a small, dark cloud of pain still hangs over me, just out of sight, a reminder of the person and gentle spirit I miss intensely.
My only advise to you, if I may, is to love your son unconditionally, hug often, nurture and cultivate his unique creativity and listen with an open heart.