Tag: death

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

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

Processing Grief

I started taking a course on grief and photography by “What’s Your Grief.” One of the things that have been very hard to resume since my dad died was using my camera. Most pictures I have taken have been with my phone, which is okay, but it’s not the same. The two women who run…… Continue reading Processing Grief

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

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