Tag: creative journaling

My Heart is Your Home

We built memories in the house Where we once lived. Parties, holidays, card games, and cookouts All were welcome to attend There was always room around our dining room table, No matter the number of guests. People would spill out into the back porch and yard in the summertime. We’d nestle around the kitchen table…… Continue reading My Heart is Your Home

This New Life

Grief has left me feeling lonely and adrift in the world. I am searching for the person I will be in this new phase of my life. With my parents’ death six months apart this year, I feel like I was hit with a one-two punch. I had barely lifted myself off the mat after…… Continue reading This New Life

When your heart is broken And you think that you can’t take one more heartache Bravery is not fighting dragons or being a superhero. It’s getting up every morning to face a new day. Showering and getting dressed. Eating Doing your job the best that you can. Crying as you drive, walk, sit, or whatever… Continue reading Bravery in the Face of Grief

Different Boat, Same Storm

Last week, I went to see the film “The Same Storm,” which was made during the pandemic, using Zoom as the actors filmed from their own homes. It revolves around the need for connection during the isolation and uncertainty in the spring and summer of 2020. The quote from a poem written by Damien Barr…… Continue reading Different Boat, Same Storm

Dis/Connected

There is a place that exists when the person you love dies. I see the world through a veil, Dis/Connected from the world around me. I’m physically present, but my being is somewhere else. I can see nature’s beauty and hear the birds singing, And yet, they feel like a distant reminder of life. There’s…… Continue reading Dis/Connected

Grief Triggers

My biggest trigger for grief is when I do everything right, but things go wrong. It seems to hit when I’m at my most vulnerable. It stirs up the sorrow that fills my heart and rips the stitches apart. I’m once again reminded that I only have control over what I put into the situation…… Continue reading Grief Triggers

Life Preservers

Grief is like being set adrift in a raging sea where I struggle to keep my head above water. I’m always looking for that life preserver to keep me from sinking. For me, that comes in books about grief by people who have lived that experience. Some are written by counselors, while others are memoirs.…… Continue reading Life Preservers

Secondary Losses

Grief is complicated because it is not only the death of the person you love but also the secondary losses that come with death. Nothing prepares you for the excruciating pain that accompanies death. However, it’s the unexpected secondary losses that nobody really talks about. They include changes to finances, friendships, family relationships, identity, and…… Continue reading Secondary Losses

I’m Thinking…

A Moment of Joy From the Spring, 2022 I bought “Writing Down the Bones Deck” cards by Natalie Goldberg so I would have writing prompts when needed. Writing is a therapeutic way to express my feelings, especially when they are overwhelming. So this is the first prompt. What I’m thinking of is that it’s a…… Continue reading I’m Thinking…

Adjusting to the Unexpected

This year has been a reminder of how fragile life is and that you can’t take anything for granted. Having lived through the death of both my parents and then catching COVID a month after my dad died was overwhelming. Little did I know that two weeks after recovering from COVID, I would have to…… Continue reading Adjusting to the Unexpected