Working Through Grief

Reducing Holiday Stress-O-Rama

December 8th, 2017
Posted By:

Santa_and_Puppies

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I recently posted some thoughts about December and it’s ups and downs.

More than any time of the year, expectations run high and emotional triggers seem to be lie in wait all around us.  There’s shopping and decorating and socializing and it’s all supposed to go according to schedule and be everything that you want it to be.

You know.  Like the holidays in the magazines and on television.

Except that in real life that doesn’t happen.

And it’s okay.  In fact, it’s more than okay.

It’s just what life is.… Read More

Having A Thankful Heart

November 20th, 2017
Posted By:

As we slide into this holiday week of Thanksgiving, my thoughts turn to the simple idea of setting aside a day to show gratitude. Yes life is crazy, messy and unpredictable. Yes the holiday season can be painful and a stinging reminder of a terrible loss or a difficult family situation. But you can sit yourself down and listen to your heart and acknowledge your limits.  Be aware of what you need before you join family and friends for any holiday event.  Express your thoughts and feelings to a trusted person.  Change up your expectations and instead focus on one… Read More

Hold On For One More Day

September 15th, 2017
Posted By:

Today being Friday, I think we deserve to listen to an outstanding song to celebrate its arrival. You may know the song Hold On from the fabulous and hysterical movie, Bridesmaids. In the movie, Hold On is performed by Wilson Phillips, the original group which cut the record in 1990, and we watch as they sing their classic harmony and then we see the uber-talented actresses/writers/entertainers Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig lipsynch the words to the song and dance along to its catchy beat. If you listen to the lyrics you hear that Hold On is about personal empowerment and… Read More

September 11, 2017

September 11th, 2017
Posted By:

National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City “The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.” ~ Samuel Beckett, Waiting For Godot All of us carry images in our minds that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. I think it is safe to say that some of the images we will never forget include the events of September 11, 2001. While this horrific event and the thousands of lives lost during that tragic day happened… Read More

Healing Is Not Linear

August 30th, 2017
Posted By:

One of the most excellent things about reading is when you discover a fictional character in a book who expresses something you have been feeling but haven’t been able to describe. This happened to me the other night while I was reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Olive Kitteridge by the beautiful writer and author Elizabeth Strout. In the book, I am introduced to Angie O’Meara, a middle-aged woman who plays piano in a cocktail lounge in Maine.  She has had a few drinks while playing Christmas carols during her shift and out of the corner of her eye she… Read More

Last Words & Conversations

August 1st, 2017
Posted By:

Princess Diana with her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, in London in 1995.  Photo courtesy of AFP/Getty Images Princess Diana and her extraordinary sons are back in the news given that August 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of her tragic death in a car crash while visiting Paris. Perhaps you have been reading the numerous news articles marking this significant event or you watched the HBO special where Diana’s sons, William and Harry, lovingly shared family pictures and tenderly spoke of their mother’s dedication to numerous charitable causes. While it has been 20 years since Diana died, I think… Read More

Father’s Day Without Dad

June 18th, 2017
Posted By:

    Sometimes the most profound moments can happen in the middle of doing something ordinary. My Brother, Tom, and I were recently grocery shopping for our Mom.  At 86, our Mom has paid her dues and shouldn’t have to put even her little toe inside a grocery store anymore.  Sometimes she does like to get out and do her own errands and browse around the grocery store but on this particular day she was tired and needed some essentials so my brother and I decided to go for her. Let me pause here to quickly tell you a little… Read More

5 Fabulous Ways to Heal

June 8th, 2017
Posted By:

Healing. What a great word!  When I say it or think about it, I feel warm inside, as though I just ate a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Our opportunities to find healing are all around us, just waiting for us to reach out.  We can let the passage of time take its own course by hoping, hoping, hoping that healing feelings will eventually wash over us or we can act on trying to heal our inner selves when we feel ready to face the sad or traumatic feelings that we carry in our hearts.  Feeling the pain and talking… Read More

5 Purifying Places to Cry

May 16th, 2017
Posted By:

Emmy Award Winning Actor Jon Hamm as Mad Men’s Don Draper (Yes, Men Do Cry & That’s Okay) Sometimes the feeling starts in my throat. It feels tight.  I try to swallow a few times to see if that will make it go away. The next thing I know a lump has formed as I begin to feel my eyes well up with water.  I try looking up at the ceiling because a good friend told me this is a trick she uses to prevent crying. Or I pinch the bridge of my nose so that I focus on the … Read More