Category: Bittersweet Life

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

A Love Letter to My Mom

The last photo I took with my mom was in May 2020. Dear Mom, An empty spot opened in my heart when you died on January 23, 2022, leaving a deep sense of loneliness that cannot be filled, only lived with.  There will never be anyone like you again.  You knew me before the world…… Continue reading A Love Letter to My Mom

Friends Help You Up When You Hit the Wall

Sign of the Times by Hugo Medina It’s invisible, so you don’t know when you will crash into it, but the wall of grief is always there. Friends who have your back help you get through these challenging times. This past week, I was doing something I have done for the past six years, which…… Continue reading Friends Help You Up When You Hit the Wall

Finding Grief Validation with Megan Devine

Grief is a complex part of life that we will all experience throughout our lives. I had experienced it with the deaths of my grandparents, relatives, and acquaintances. But it was only when my husband died that I fully understood the devastation of grief.  It also opened my eyes to the times that I thought…… Continue reading Finding Grief Validation with Megan Devine

When Ten Years Feels Like a Minute in Time

Mike in York, UK 1986 On this Saturday, March 12th, in anticipation of the 10th anniversary of Mike’s death, I kept reminding myself that it wouldn’t be as painful as the day he died. Nothing would ever match the heartache and shock when I heard that he was dead. And it worked for the day…… Continue reading When Ten Years Feels Like a Minute in Time

I Carry You In My Heart

Copyright Jennifer Mullins The hardest thing about the death of a loved one is their physical absence. It takes the brain time to come to terms with a reality it can’t understand. And though Mike and my mom live in my heart, the physical loss can be staggering. After a brief respite of being numb,…… Continue reading I Carry You In My Heart