Memorial Day
Memorial Day is the day in which we honor those who have fallen during active service for our country. We spend time remembering their sacrifice and their bravery. In recent times, Memorial Day has been the unofficial kickoff of summer. Some kids are already out of school, pools are opening, shopping sales are great, and […]
More Birthdays
I celebrated my 28th birthday last Sunday. It was an amazing day and weekend full of family, friends, and food…tons of food. I got to talk to family members that live far away and surround myself with as much love as possible. But, for as amazing as this day was, there were people missing. I […]
68
Today wraps up the last of the “hard days” of 2018. Today would have been my mom’s 68th birthday if she had lived past the age of 59. Every year for my mom’s birthday, I would make her a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I have baked for her ever since I can remember (yes […]
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 […]