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Combatting the Sunday Morning Loneliness

Posted on September 4, 2011 - by Sandra Pesmen

The television is crackling with news about the latest weather catastrophe! All the morning news shows are “round tabling” about the craziness of ALL the candidates!! I’m bursting with comments, remarks, outrage—and there’s no one here for me to share all this emotion with. I can easily feel sorry for myself and go into a lonely funk, but I choose not to. Instead I make a lovely breakfast just for me. I make plans to bake cupcakes later for a sick friend, and I think about what kind of writing I’ll do this afternoon (and if you have other creative talents […]

Despite Husband’s Death, He’s ‘Always There’

Posted on September 3, 2011 - by Ellen Gerst

When my late husband committed suicide, it felt as if I died too. The searing pain pierced my heart so deeply that I felt disconnected from everyday life. I would watch the world go by as if it were a movie, and I did not have a part. However, my two children needed my caring attention, so I walked through life accomplishing the necessary tasks. However, when I was alone at night and in the confines of my bedroom, I would incessantly replay my life in my mind’s eye like a never-ending rerun. Over time, I was finally able to […]

The Music and Life of Nick Ashford

Posted on September 2, 2011 - by Nicole Alston

Not long before I attended Mr. Nick Ashford’s funeral at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, I was waiting in the check-out line at a nearby convenience store. The line was being manned by an exasperated store clerk, but, apparently, he had been abandoned by his fellow employees. His frantic attempts to page them for back-up help at the counter were completely ignored. Customers were irritable and becoming more and more impatient by the minute. The scene was tense, with the exception of a teenage girl in front of me, who seemed to have found the secret to zoning out […]

Memories of Flowers on a Rainy Day

Posted on August 30, 2011 - by Chasity Glass

The smell of rain humidified the air. I hit snooze twice, three times. I’m convinced rain in Los Angeles should be considered a snow day, a break from routine, from working hard, a day to stay under the blankets. Even Gladys didn’t want to undo the tight ball of her sleeping body. Contemplating a fourth snooze, I heard a knock on the door. Doubtful it was my house, I rolled over. Another knock disturbed the chilled room. What the hell do the neighbors want at 8 a.m.? I dragged myself out from the depths of my comforter and headed to […]

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Posted on August 29, 2011 - by Kimberly Wencl

In a few short days, the month of September will be upon us. As I type these words, I can physically feel my stomach flip-flopping and a knot beginning to form. What’s wrong with September? Technically … nothing. I do enjoy the last days of summer and the soon-to-be fall weather. But my oldest daughter’s birthday and the day she died are both in the month of September. September brings up so many memories, both the good and the painful. On September 12, my Elizabeth would have been 28 years old. What would she be doing with her life? I so often […]

Deceased Grandchild Sends Dragonflies to Grandma

Posted on August 28, 2011 - by Nina Bennett

Synchronicity is far more than a rock album. It is the term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychotherapist, to describe the phenomenon in which events are connected in such a meaningful way that their occurrence seems to defy the calculations of probability. Part of my new normal since my granddaughter was born still is that I no longer believe in coincidence. I do, however, fervently embrace the concept of synchronicity. My earliest experience of synchronicity in this particular journey of bereavement, grief and transformation occurred while my daughter-in-law was in labor. It is only in retrospect that I am […]

Embracing Grief Does Not Mean Rejecting Faith

Posted on August 27, 2011 - by Brandi Reyna

Prior to my fiancé Greg’s accident in March 2010, my walk with Christ included daily quiet time and prayer, weekly women’s bible study, weekly young adult’s small group, weekly church service, and I served in ministry as a greeter, prayer team member and as intern in our church in women’s ministry. My walk with Christ looks a lot different now. I feel so convicted about it because I know my walk should resemble how I lived prior to Greg’s accident because that’s what scripture teaches. However, a friend of many years shared with me that while she sees how and […]

We Never Said Goodbye

Posted on August 26, 2011 - by Tony Falzano

Towards the end of her life, my mom had a number of health issues. These included high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure and eventually, dialysis. In the fall of 1999, her right leg began to turn black and blue. It was diagnosed that her heart was not strong enough to pump the blood to the lower extremity and thus caused the leg to discolor. To correct this, mom had surgery on her artery to increase the blood flow. She came through the operation fine. She was alert that afternoon and was able to converse. The next day, the hospital staff […]

Sound and Silence Offer Solace

Posted on August 25, 2011 - by Rhonda Belous

“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross I felt compelled to stroke his hair like he was my little boy. A young boy who was in honest pain with not one place left to turn. The crying spells were inconsolable. No words would do. Nothing could possibly be fair, kind or compassionately adequate. At this point, there was not much left for my father: body, fixes, time. All that remained were random attempts at comfort, and most importantly, Love. Once, musicians came […]

Free Bird Incident: Deceased Son Gives Mom a Sign

Posted on August 22, 2011 - by Sheri Perl

A week or so after Danny passed, I was lying in bed, unable to bring myself to get up and get dressed. My heart was heavy and I could think of no way to lighten it. For lack of anything else to do, I opened my computer and began to look at the music that was listed in my iTunes library. My eyes immediately locked on a song by the name of “Free Bird”. I had never listened to the song or had any interest in it before. It was included in a movie sound tract that I had previously […]