In this blog, I reflect on the importance of community support not only in my grief journey, but also in finding joy after the death of loved ones. Photography and improv led me to build communities that I didn’t think were possible.
#griefjourney #communitysupport
Category: Coping with Loss
Thirteen Years Later: A Journey Through Grief and Healing
March 13th will mark Mike’s 13th deathiversary. It feels like an eternity ago and yesterday at the same time. Anticipation of the actual date is emotionally hard. This year, I’ve reached out to people to spend time with as was suggested is something that I read recently about emotional anniversaries. Each year I meet the day differently, depending on where I’m at in my life.
Focusing on What I Can Control: Coping Tools
The last two weeks have been stressful for me personally and in the country. I’m trying to navigate the worsening symptoms of my chronic conditions while also dealing with the results of the elections, both of which are wearing on my nervous system. Changes in the weather, sleep patterns, and visual and auditory overstimulation contribute…… Continue reading Focusing on What I Can Control: Coping Tools
Navigating This Season of Grief: A Personal Journey
Sometimes, I need an outsider to help me see what’s happening when I’m struggling because I’m too close to it. In this case, it was my counselor. This October, I’ve experienced more grief than “my normal.” I feel like I’m drifting through the days like a spectral, only anchored by my calendar and alarms on…… Continue reading Navigating This Season of Grief: A Personal Journey
Coping Tools for Dealing with Grief and Stress: A Personal Journey
When I get a call at an unexpected time from my daughter, my brain goes to a place where something’s wrong, or someone has died. I know that this is her reaction as well because we have lived through the traumatic sudden death of my husband and her father. Last week, she called me from…… Continue reading Coping Tools for Dealing with Grief and Stress: A Personal Journey
Navigating Grief: Lessons from Road Work
Phoenix, like most cities, seems to be under constant road construction. The other day, I was heading to a meeting and running late when the road narrowed to one lane. Unsure of how far the construction would be, I debated turning off to a side street but continued on the route. Fortunately, when I got…… Continue reading Navigating Grief: Lessons from Road Work
When a Friend Dies
I have been through the grief of my husband and parents’ deaths, but this is the first time I’ve had a significant friend die. I was not prepared for the devastating heartache that accompanied this loss. So much of grief literature focuses on the three prominent deaths: child, spouse, and parent, but I’ve not read…… Continue reading When a Friend Dies
Presence of Absence
I went to a webinar on grief and loneliness, and the speaker used the phrase “presence of absence,” part of a quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It was an “aha” moment of recognition of how I was feeling, especially with the fresh grief of the death of my 19-year-old cat. This was the first…… Continue reading Presence of Absence
Saying Goodbye
“Bella,’ photo, ink, and watercolor The colors represent the light and joy she brought into my life. Living with grief means living in two worlds. The one where I go about my day taking care of life while inside, an emotional storm is raging. Each death that I experience only compounds the grief that I’m…… Continue reading Saying Goodbye
Intertwined Grief
Watching my 19-year-old cat decline has stirred up so much grief that is intertwined with the deaths of my parents and husband. Although she can eat, drink, use the litterbox, and get up on the couch and bed, she’s slowing down and walking like an old cat. I took her to the vet last week,…… Continue reading Intertwined Grief
Beautiful Bittersweet Life 
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