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Grandparent's Poem She was my third born - but my only daughter. He was her first born - and so far, her only son. The bond between us has lasted almost thirty years. The bond between them lasted less than seven months. Eric Thomas was born on September 1, 1992 - he died that same day. There will never be a way to describe the intense pain I have felt for the past four days. I hope at no other time in my life will I experience such pain again. I have always known I loved my daughter - but never knew how much until now. How precious she seems to me now - how scared it makes me feel to think of what I would do if I lost her. As we held each other close and cried with such force that the room seemed to shake with our sobbing, I could only remember how much she had been wanted. I tried to imagine how I would have felt if she had never know this wonderful life, had never grown into a beautiful young woman, had never known the love of a wonderful man. I tried to imagine how I would have felt if I had lost her - but I couldn't. No one could feel the pain she was feeling at the loss of her beautiful son. And I felt totally helpless. September 6, 1992 Carla Ritter, Eric's grandma Reprinted with permission. To order the booklet, A Grandparent's Sorrow, call 503-284-8985