The holidays are a time when the grief I carry with me takes a toll on me. This year I had an epiphany that I develop holiday grief amnesia, where I forget that I feel this way every year since my husband died. I think it’s the brain’s way of protecting me from emotional overload. This year, I gave it a name, which has helped me be gentler with myself.
Tag: 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.
Evolving Christmas Traditions Through Loss
For the last three years, I’ve been writing about the holiday season on my blog. It’s helpful when I go back and see where I’ve been. It also is a reminder that the feelings of grief that come up at this time of year are normal. They serve as a compass of where my life…… Continue reading Evolving Christmas Traditions Through Loss
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
Grief Ghost: Coping With Loss and Memories
Grief Ghost It’s living with the ghost of Christmas Past, for no more memories can be made. Images that appear in your dreams Or your thoughts in the middle of the night As you lie awake, sleep evades you. It comes unbidden when those special days draw near. Wedding anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, death dates, and…… Continue reading Grief Ghost: Coping With Loss and Memories
A Love Story
Watching the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Eternal Memory” gave me a new perspective on my mom’s Alzheimer’s and my parents’ deaths. Director Maite Alberdi shares the compelling story of Augusto Gongora, a producer and editor, and Paulina Urrutia, an actress, a married couple in Chile, and their story of living with Augusto’s Alzheimer’s. Because the grief…… Continue reading A Love Story
Illness and Grief
“A Shadow of Myself” @beautifulbittersweetlife Last night, I looked at the Phoenix Film Festival website, an organization for which I’ve been a volunteer photographer since 2016. It is one of my favorite yearly events. It allows me to connect with fellow volunteers, meet people who make independent films, see interesting films that aren’t available in…… Continue reading Illness and Grief
Beautiful Bittersweet Life 
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