Working Through Grief

It’s All About Our Stuff

September 5th, 2013
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Earlier this week I wrote about finding my deceased husband’s tweed jacket in the back of a guest room closet and what it felt like to discover it.
Now, unfortunately, it’s time to say good-bye to his Irish wool jacket.  It doesn’t fit my son and the jacket doesn’t really hold any special meaning for him.  Even though it once belonged to my husband, I have arrived at that point in my life where I know I can’t save everything that holds meaning for me.  Some things you just have to set free into the universe.
In my head, I … Read More

Insight From Grey’s Anatomy

September 3rd, 2013
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I was clicking around on Pinterest (which is truly a guilty pleasure!!!) yesterday and found this insightful and timely quote on one of my niece’s boards. How true! Grief is unpredictable!  And that’s why people don’t like to talk about it, or acknowledge it, and hope, hope, hope, that it will go away all on its own. But Cry, Laugh, Heal is all about having an honest dialogue about grief and resilience and sharing what helped me after my husband sadly died nine years ago.  I have found that time and support from friends and family have helped me but … Read More

Newtown On Labor Day

September 2nd, 2013
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Today is Labor Day and I have the day off from work.  YEAH!!! I hope you do too! Maybe you are planning to go to a friend’s house for a special holiday meal or you are going to cook for your family.  Or maybe you’re just hangin’ at your own house catching up on personal projects.  Or maybe you’re going to go to an afternoon picnic or watch a community parade. In Newtown, Connecticut today, there will be a parade.  A parade of love and community and healing. It will be same parade that thousands of residents have watched and… Read More

Seamus Heaney

August 31st, 2013
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Seamus Heaney, a celebrated and grand Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, sadly died yesterday in a hospital in Dublin at the age of 74. Irish Poet And Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney To say that Heaney had a way with words is an understatement.  His powerful verse transported readers around the world to Ireland and sometimes to its rural landscape and the grind of its daily responsibilities.  To me, his phrasing always felt magical and lyrical no matter what subject he addressed. As a tribute to Heaney’s great talents, here is Digging, one of my… Read More

Sea of Turquoise

August 29th, 2013
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Today is about tranquility, the quality of being calm. Enter a sea of turquoise. . . And take a deep breath And exhale. . . You could do it all here: cry, laugh and heal!   Photo Courtesy of House of Turquoise… Read More

50th Anniversary of March on Washington

August 28th, 2013
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“Our goal was not to gain power.  It was to heal a torn-up community.” ~ Diane Judith Nash, a civil rights leader Marching for your human rights and dignity is healing.  It is an act of restoring faith in yourself and your community. Marching is also rewarding for the human spirit and good for the human soul.  Standing up for your rights confirms for you that you are not alone in your feelings; that others share your thoughts and emotions. Peacefully marching, holding protest signs and delivering passionate speeches gives rise to feelings of respect for those who are declaring,… Read More

My Baby Doesn’t Want This Letter

August 27th, 2013
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You can file the following under silly, sad, ridiculous or just plain ole unnecessary and inefficient. I came home from work yesterday and, as I usually do, picked up the mail from the door slot and started going through it.  Monday’s mail is usually thin and this time it was no exception.  A few real estate solicitation cards, a catalog and even a letter from a friend. But there was also a curious piece of mail addressed to my husband.  My husband who died nine years ago.  My husband whose name I would think at this point would show up… Read More

A New Place To Live

August 26th, 2013
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Good Morning Fantastic Readers!This past weekend was interesting and productive and I hope yours was too!  The weekends just fly by wayyyyy too quickly don’t they? Part of my weekend was spent visiting a family member.  In the course of my visit, I could tell we were going to fall into our usual conversational trap of going over the same ground that we have covered many times before.  You know what I mean, right?  The person brings up a certain subject and you know what they’re going to say and you try to change their mind or at least get… Read More

News That Inspires

August 22nd, 2013
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I don’t know about you, but when I read newspapers, magazine or books, I am always looking for stories about people who have overcome a tragedy or some other kind of obstacle in their lives. I am always amazed when I read about how someone who has experienced the death of a loved one or another kind of personal crisis then manages in the midst of this personal pain to find reserves of inner strength to work through their conflicting feelings and move forward to pursue something positive.  The same is true of someone whose life seems full of things … Read More