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Father-Daughter Bond Continues Beyond the Grave

Posted on June 15, 2014 - by Jane Simington

My last visit with my father began three days before his passing. I had known him as a man of few words, so the intensity and depth of the conversation we shared about the life we had spent together marked me indelibly. He emphasized that he wished he “had been able to do more [for me],” “to give [me] more.” My simple response, “Daddy, you gave me life; you gave me my education. I could ask for nothing more,” affirmed the roles that he had played in my life. I left my father’s room that evening believing I would never […]

Resilience After Death of a Daughter

Posted on June 14, 2014 - by Alan Pedersen

Life did not prepare me for August 15, 2001. In one moment on a very ordinary day, the world as I knew it inexplicably changed. I answered the phone to the panicked voice of a friend telling me that my 18-year-old and only daughter Ashley had been killed in an automobile accident. Little did I know that this one single moment in time would become the demarcation point in my life. Time just stopped, I felt frozen and in disbelief, I was paralyzed and in shock. Somehow I stumbled through the fog and within a few days of Ashley’s death, […]

My Father’s Final Gift

Posted on June 14, 2014 - by Paula Ezop

I would like to share my father’s final gift with you – a gift he unknowingly gave to me in death. I received this most precious gift on a beautiful sunny day in April. I’ll never forget the sky, it was so blue and the air was so crisp – God had created a simply gorgeous Spring day. It was hard for me to imagine that anyone (much less my father) could be dying on such a glorious, beautiful day… I remember I didn’t want to go to the hospital to visit my father on that beautiful day. I knew I […]

Letter to a Lost Father

Posted on June 13, 2014 - by Lisa Khuraibet

Dear Dad, It’s been 26 years since we last celebrated Father’s Day together. I think about your time here on Earth and I rejoice in your spirit. Born in the early 1900’s, you saw so many things. You were raised Jewish, yet you chose to let us be who we were; it did not matter to you if we were Jewish or Christian, as long as we had a faith in God. I remember your love of Christmas trees and we had one every year, just because you didn’t. You said you wanted one as a child and couldn’t have […]

Surviving Grief without Losing Your Mind

Posted on June 12, 2014 - by Beth Marshall

Losing someone you love is like having part of your heart ripped out. Whether death came through sudden catastrophe or a drawn-out disease where there was time to prepare, grief often leaves us with more questions than answers. •What do I do with all the regrets? •Why do people say crazy things when they’re trying to help? •Shouldn’t I be able to power through the sorrow on my own? Grief is a process and there are three challenges almost everyone goes through: 1. Rehashing regrets is like riding a stationary bicycle. You’ll go round and round to the point of […]

Sitting in the Dark with Maya Angelou

Posted on June 11, 2014 - by Kelly Buckley

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. ~Maya Angelou~ I’ve always had the feeling that life loves the liver of it. You must live and life will be good to you, give you experiences. They may not all be that pleasant, but nobody promised you a rose garden. But more than likely if you do dare, what you get are the marvelous returns. ~Maya Angelou~ I’ve been sitting quietly this morning, listening to the live-stream of Maya Angelou’s memorial service. To hear the words of so many, celebrating the life of a person who harnessed the circumstances of her […]

Lucky Charms: It Isn’t Just a Cereal

Posted on June 10, 2014 - by Alicia Coppola

LUCKY CHARMS: It isn’t just a Cereal “See a penny, pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck.” “Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back.” “When you see a hummingbird, think of me.” I grew up hearing the first of these two “sayings” from my father, which resulted in, while walking on cracked cement, a strange, hopping gait and a jar full of pennies stashed in my childhood closet. They became so much more than superstitious sayings to me. They became my prayers. The third saying/prayer about the hummingbird was shared with me […]

Grief and the Loss of Control

Posted on June 9, 2014 - by Maria Kubitz

Possibly one of the hardest aspects of grief for me has been that I can’t control it. I spent the majority of my life trying desperately to control everything in it. I wanted life to be predictable and – above all – peaceful. The problem has been what I tried to control and how I’d gone about it. I spent many, many years trying to control the people and situations around me through careful, strategic use of my own words, actions (or lack thereof), and responses. It was exhausting and depressing. And as you can imagine, it never really worked. […]

Finding a Larger Meaning: Suffering Can Open Us Up

Posted on June 9, 2014 - by Donna Miesbach

Challenge is a necessary part of life. And no one is exempt. That includes people like author-teacher extraordinaire Jean Houston. Being “famous” didn’t allow her to opt out of the process. So here are some of her conclusions after meeting difficult times: 1. “It is absolutely essential to look at what happened in fresh ways. A change in perspective can lead to the way out.” 2. “As much as you can, stop mentally re-living what happened that was so painful. As long as you focus on the pain, you will have pain. When you look for a broader landscape, you […]

Comedy About Widowhood

Posted on June 9, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

Marriage jokes about her late husband’s snoring. Widow jokes about their one-sided conversations. This and more when memory artist, Nancy Gershman talks with standup comedian and attorney, Anita Milner about roasting beloved partners who die. Anita works with many widowed men and women – from the well-adjusted to the lonely hearts. Visit Anita on www.anitamilner.com. Passing away quickly? Throw a Good Bye party Roast your late husband (only if your complaints are universal) The terminally ill are naturals at physical comedy A dead spouse can be more attentive than a live one If you’re making a shrine, stick to dignified ceremonial objects Some […]