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A Forever Decision, Part 4

Posted on October 8, 2012 - by Anne Hamilton

It has been a month since I lost my beloved Camilla due to a brain tumor. Today I felt desolate. Tears sprang into my eyes when I thought of what we went through a month ago. The grief was fresh enough to constrict my throat and blur my vision. I’ve been experiencing grief in waves, and chunks. Last week, I felt bereft and hopeless for a couple of days and had to talk to myself to keep myself going. “Anne, people need you. Isabella needs you. You have to take care of her. She misses her sister, too. Just give […]

Finding Peace After the Death of a Grandchild

Posted on October 8, 2012 - by Mary Jane Clayton

I’m an ordinary person just like you, trying to keep up with life and make the most of every day. Usually, we wake up each morning with plans for what we need or want to do that day. We get ourselves in gear and begin to put the day’s plan in motion without every thinking life might throw us a curve ball. Then one day, we get that pitch. If you’ve ever received news that puts you in a state of shock, you know how it feels to be left wondering how you can possible handle what was just thrown […]

Home Sickness After a Loved One’s Death

Posted on October 7, 2012 - by Kelly Farley

All of us who have lost a child can agree that when you lose a child, everything in your life is impacted in some way. After the death of my son Noah, and once I surrendered to the fight of emotional avoidance, I became someone who didn’t like to leave the house and became somewhat antisocial for the first time in my life. I felt a lot of comfort hanging out at home with my wife Christine. When she would leave the house and I was left by myself, I would get this uneasy feeling. Just being with Christine kept […]

Lifted Up by Spirit

Posted on October 7, 2012 - by Sheri Perl

When I am my saddest and most bereft, I turn to spirit. I know that although I cannot see spirit, that spirit exists. I know that spirit exists because in 1971 I had an extraordinary healing experience with the late British spiritual healer Harry Edwards and I felt energy around all around me and somehow this energy healed my body. Up until this time in my life, I didn’t believe in anything that you couldn’t see. But then I was presented with this invisible energy that I could actually feel and a very wonderful healing that took place in my […]

How ‘Doing Nothing’ Can Be the Way to Survive a Loss

Posted on October 7, 2012 - by Katherine Ingram

When I was a little girl, I loved searching for caterpillars on the milkweed plants that grew in abundance around our house. I would pluck one from the underside of a leaf and place it in my hand, stroking its smooth body with a tentative finger, carefully carrying it home in cupped hands to be re-homed in a mayonnaise jar, along with a stick and some leaves. I’d poke holes in the lid and then run out to the garage every day and check to see if the black and yellow striped creature had cocooned itself. When at last it […]

Mother’s Terminal Diagnosis Teaching Daughter to ‘Live While Dying’

Posted on October 3, 2012 - by Nina Bennett

When my father died unexpectedly and traumatically, my brother and I entertained a philosophical discussion on whether it’s easier for family members if death is sudden or if it is anticipated. At the time, we agreed that while we would wish a swift death for the sake of our parents, we would prefer to have the gift of time, to be able to converse openly about their wishes, and to mine their memory for family history. You may have heard the cliché “be careful what you wish for.” Here I am, 5 years after my father’s death, facing my mother’s. […]

A Widow Ponders Beginnings, Endings, and Middles

Posted on October 2, 2012 - by Christine Thiele

We all have gifts and challenges. Some of us are better at beginnings, some better at middles and some are better at the end. I am better at middles. I love the comfort of knowing things are how they are and that routine and ritual work. I do appreciate the excitement and exhilaration of beginnings and ends, but can’t live there all the time. It’s probably why my children were happy toddlers. I am very good at setting up structure, transition time and being there for people. I am reliable and responsible…probably to a toxic level for myself…attributes I assume […]

Mindfulness is a Way to Cope with Grief

Posted on October 1, 2012 - by Harriet Hodgson

“Crisis impacts your writing,” the author said. “I wrote some of my best stuff when I was in crisis.” Though I had never met this local author before, I felt connected to her. Both of us were freelancers and both of us had experienced crisis. During our conversation, we agreed that crisis made us more appreciative of family, friends, and the blessings in our lives. The memory of this conversation was tucked away in the back of my mind until 2007, when I lost my daughter, father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law. My grief was raw and so were my emotions. […]

Missing a Son During his Birthday Season

Posted on September 30, 2012 - by Jean Williams

As I planted my veggie seeds last spring, I sensed a joy to bring in new life. As I now tear down my garden, I am relieved the work is almost done. I sense a sadness. Why? you may ask. So close to the birthday of my deceased son, Joshua. It’s a very hard season indeed. I am still here. I walk this earth. I work and work to fill my mind and heart with the good that God has allowed me to have. I share my life with others in hopes it may help in some small way, and I’m […]

Three Years into Widowhood, Embracing a Birthday

Posted on September 30, 2012 - by Brandi Reyna

“Hope your birthday is a good chance to see how far you have come, and look ahead to what the next year might be too!” ~Robin In September, I turned 28 years old. My birthday weekend was unlike the previous two. In 2010, my birthday was six months and a week after losing Greg. I really don’t remember that birthday much. I remember having dinner with my mom and a few people who were my friends at the time. I remember being overwhelmed trying to manage everything and be the “hostess” and try to “have it all together,” trying to make […]