Tag: life change

Garden Contemplation

Garden Paths Walking through a garden is a cleansing experience that allows me to leave the world behind. My pace and breathing slow as I become one with the natural world. I often go to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, enjoying its transformation throughout the year. Each time I walk a garden path,…… Continue reading Garden Contemplation

Being Grateful For Who You Are

Copyright Jennifer Mullins I was looking for a document the other day when I opened this letter of gratitude I wrote to myself in 2019 by mistake. I don’t remember why I wrote it, but I forgot about it. I’m glad I found it because it showed me where I was two years ago. It’s…… Continue reading Being Grateful For Who You Are

Coping With a Chronic Illness

Vestibular Self Portrait The top three grief experiences in order are the death of a child, spouse, and parent. The pain of my husband’s death is part of my DNA. But there is other grief that we encounter. One of them comes with developing and living with a chronic condition. On May 27, 2020, amid…… Continue reading Coping With a Chronic Illness

Life is a Both/And Proposition

Copyright Both/And Jennifer Mullins My counselor is having me read Loving Bravely by Alexandra H. Solomon, Ph.D.  Each chapter has an assignment that helps you get to know yourself better, the patterns you have, and how to get the love you want. In one of the chapters, she talks about the concept of both/and.  I…… Continue reading Life is a Both/And Proposition

The Other Goodbyes

Grief at the time of death is expected. The unexpected grief from the other goodbyes would bring the swells of sadness to the surface as I would have to let go of another thread of the cloth that bound Mike and me together. Copyright Jennifer Mullins When Mike first died, I couldn’t find the last…… Continue reading The Other Goodbyes

Saying Yes to Life

The pandemic curbed the 2020 Phoenix Film Festival until the fall of last year, with limited seating for films. The 2021 festival was pushed to August because of the continued outbreak, but remarkable events with more film seating, filmmakers, and fan enthusiasts made it a success. I emailed the festival offering to volunteer five years…… Continue reading Saying Yes to Life

Here Come Those Tears Again

Mike and me I spent the first three years working through the complicated emotions of Mike’s sudden death. It was painful to deal with all of the feelings: guilt, anger, sorrow, and I often didn’t know whether I was coming or going. It was exhausting, and I would have preferred to skip the whole process…… Continue reading Here Come Those Tears Again

Finding a Place to Breathe

Copyright Jennifer Mullins I didn’t realize how shallow my breathing had become after Mike’s death until I found a place where I could breathe again. Grief is so physically oppressive.  It interrupted my sleep, made my body ache, caused me to suffer from anxiety, and kept me from catching my breath. I spent a night…… Continue reading Finding a Place to Breathe