Jennifer Mullins

Because You Loved Me

My parents and husband are the three most influential people who shaped the woman I am today. Each of them lives on in me today as I wander the world without them. So I chose to write about how each of them continues to shine through the person I am today. Mom, the world can…… Continue reading Because You Loved Me

I Remember…

Some of the prompts I’ve had in “Writing Your Grief” have been challenging. This one was to pick a simple object and let your mind run with it. The first problem was picking an article. There were suggestions, but none of them resonated with me. For several days, I would look at the prompt, then…… Continue reading I Remember…

How My Heart Is

“The prompt from””Writing Your Grief” is to write about the condition of my heart. I sat with it for a few days, trying to get a sense of where I am right now. The first image that came to me was the desert. “The prompt from “Writing Your Grief” is to write about the condition…… Continue reading How My Heart Is

Living in Two Worlds

“The trick, if there is one, is to maintain both: wonder and sadness, curiosity and grief. Joy and the absence of joy. Overcome by neither, open to both.” I’m using this quote from “Writing Your Grief” as a jumping-off point to write on melancholy because I’ve learned to live in a world of both/and. Grief…… Continue reading Living in Two Worlds

Smoldering Ache of Loss

Smoldering means smoke with no flames. Flames are the roar of death, either sudden or expected. Both hurt. The smoke is the pain left behind, filling my lungs until I can barely breathe. Mike’s sudden death smoldered in my mind and heart for years as I learned to live without him. After the first two…… Continue reading Smoldering Ache of Loss

Found Poetry

Found poetry is picking an article or book and highlighting the words that speak to you and your story. I found inspiration from a New York Times article about Afghan women college students brought to this country to continue their college studies for the next two years. They have lost so much and dropped into…… Continue reading Found Poetry

Blue

In the “Writing Your Grief” group that I’m doing never know if I will write about Mike, my mom, or my dad. It always seems that the person I’m supposed to be writing about comes to me when I start to write. This prompt is about my dad. This was the last photo that I…… Continue reading Blue

Grief Personified

https://videopress.com/v/a91MTOp5?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&loop=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Grief Spiralcopyright Jennifer Mullins I signed up for “Writing Your Grief” by Megan Devine a week after my dad’s funeral. It’s a 30-day program with daily prompts to write about your grief. The pain of my dad’s death was compounded by the death of my mom six months earlier and my husband ten years…… Continue reading Grief Personified

The Gift of Service

I’ve always had a close relationship with my dad. He was the person that was always there for me. When Mike died, he flew from Florida to Phoenix the same day, arriving at 11 pm. He has been the rock that I could always count on for wise advice. Now, it’s my turn to return…… Continue reading The Gift of Service

Adjusting to What Is

Desolation-How Grief Feels Copyright-Jennifer Mullins Photography I picked up Megan Devine’s book. It’s OK That You’re Not OK, my grief bible last night, which I read when I’m struggling with the fresh grief from my mom’s death and the pain that lives quietly for the most part from the death of my husband ten years…… Continue reading Adjusting to What Is