Thankful November
Throughout the month of November, I participate in #ThankfulNovember on my social media. Each day of the month, I try to make sure to post things I’m thankful for and it spans from people and things like my husband, family, and job all the way to coffee and chocolate. On the last day of November […]
Thankful For Hope
This week in Child Grief Awareness Month, we are focusing on those who have decided to help children along the path of their grief journey. These people include a child’s parents, caregivers, volunteers at bereavement centers, therapists, and any person who has dedicated some time to loving on and supporting grieving children and teens. One […]
“And The Stars Spell Out Your Name”
8 years ago, my life was shattered. Earlier this week in my blog post about Child Grief Awareness month, I talked about how children will relive the loss of their loved one over and over again as their loss changes context over time. This happens to me every year. Every November 1st, I start replaying […]
Over and Over Again
I am thankful that Child Grief Awareness Month is during the month of November because to be honest, I really dread the month of November. For the last eight years, I have spent each November 1st through Thanksgiving reliving some of the hardest days of my entire life with its climax being on November 14th. […]
When Celebrities Die
In the past couple years we have lost some great celebrity icons. From classic figures such as Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Robin Williams, and the latest Burt Reynolds and Aretha Franklin to younger teen icons like Mac Miller or Avicii, we as a community seem to be very upset when we hear about their passing. […]
Courage to Go Forward
I have heard a poem called “The Courage of the Seed” twice over the last two weeks. It is truly a beautiful poem by Mark Nepo and would encourage you to read the whole thing. Both times I have heard it spoken, one of the last lines in the poem has struck a chord with […]
Who Would I Be Now?
Often times during our grief journey, we spend time thinking about who our loved one would be now. Would they have a new job? Would they be retired and spending time out on the golf course? Would they have graduated high school and gone to college? There are so many what ifs that we think […]
This Is What Grief Looks Like
This is what grief looks like. For the few months I have found myself emerged in a flood of memories. I have been sorting pictures that we quickly threw into albums while we were trying to move out of my mom’s house seven years ago. Everything was out of order but safe in about 40 albums […]
Grief Monsters
When working with bereaved kids, and sometimes adults, I always end up talking about grief monsters. These are ugly looking creatures that live in our bodies that take over when our grief feelings become too big. Each of us has one and none of them look the same. Some people’s monsters are red or black. […]
The Hard Weeks
Have you ever noticed that some weeks are just hard? There seem to be days that come out of left field and are full of frustration, anger, and overwhelming sadness. Even if you’re going about your normal routine that the minutes feel like hours and hours feel like days. Sometimes we have no idea where […]