Remaining anchored amid life’s winds is fundamental to enduring this thing called ‘life.’ It’s a paraphrase of a saying my dad sometimes shared with me as an adult, especially in moments when I felt emotionally deflated and spiritually discouraged. Like the time I mentally prepared for a job I didn’t receive. Or when I struggled […]
When the holiday calls — Father’s Day, in this case — you have no choice but to answer, even as you grieve. I know, I know, my friend. This absolutely sucks! Yet what choice do you have as a grieving heart? Option 1 is to insert yourself in bubble wrap to insulate yourself from being […]
No one can grieve for you, my friend. Ahem (clearing my throat) … please don’t shoot the messenger. Let me explain. After my mom first died in 2012, I found myself feeling angry about friends and family not showing up in ways I appreciated. Some called when they learned of her death. A few stayed […]
When health calls, you answer. My phone rang – again, mind you – in March 2020, shortly after my dad died. The suddenness of his death, coupled with my ongoing grappling with my mom‘s death just 7 1/2 years prior, shook me to the core. In contrast to my attempts to avoid grief altogether when […]
Over nine years into my grief journey following my mom’s death and just shy of two years following my dad’s death, I’ve discovered the value inherent in leading yourself through rituals. What are rituals? Merriam-Webster defines a ritual as follows: “an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner.” A grief […]
How do you respond when every item stares back at you? The morning my mom died, my brother and I stood in her living room in shock and disbelief. Just two hours prior, in the wee hours of the morning, my mom peacefully passed away in her bed alongside me and my brother. It was […]
Why doesn’t he get it? This is a question I’ve occasionally asked throughout the past couple of years as I’ve grieved the death of my dad. The ‘he’ I’m referring to is my fiancé, David. Just before the official announcement of the global pandemic in March 2020, my adventurous, Harley Davidson riding dad died suddenly […]
The first year of grieving had me running on empty … Unfortunately, as a high-performing and energetic woman, I didn’t even realize it at the time. Looking back, however, especially at pictures of myself, I can see the toll grief took on my body. The year, 2013 … roughly 10 months after my mom died. […]
Have you ever been ghosted by a friend throughout your grief journey? In case you’re unfamiliar with the term “ghosted,” check out this 2019 The New York Times article about why people ghost: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/smarter-living/why-people-ghost-and-how-to-get-over-it.html. Essentially, ghosting occurs when a person severs communication with another person without explanation. The LAST thing I thought would ever happen […]
‘Why the heck am I feeling this way?’ This was the recurring question I asked myself in the months following my mom’s death. I found myself riddled with seemingly random aches and pains, including lingering headaches that lasted for nearly a year. This, coupled with crippling fatigue, left me feeling physically battered and emotionally overwhelmed. […]
