Working Through Grief

Embrace Your Journey

June 13th, 2013
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“Embrace Your Journey.”
You may have wondered why that phrase is listed at the top of my blog underneath the title, “Cry, Laugh, Heal. “
“Embrace Your Journey” is something called a tagline, a phrase to give you — my fantastic, wonderful and supportive readers — a heads up about the things that I’m going to write about.  Things that have helped me to slowly but surely work my way through the loss of my husband, learn to be both mother and father to a young son and develop resilience.  “Embrace Your Journey” helps me to set a tone of
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The Uncertain Path of Newtown’s Mourning Parents

June 10th, 2013
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It is rare for a national newspaper to begin a story on its Sunday front page that continues to run for five pages of with lots of pictures and is dedicated to the subject of grief. But that is just what The Washington Post did yesterday and Eli Saslow, who wrote and reported the devastating story, and Linda Davidson, who photographed the compelling pictures for the story, deserve a standing ovation for bringing much needed attention to what life is now like for the Barden family of Newtown, Connecticut, a family in the throes of raw, searingly painful grief as… Read More

Your Personal Path

May 30th, 2013
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Unlike many things in life, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. There’s really just your way. Whether it’s through talking, crying, or slowly processing your feelings privately, grief must be acknowledged.  If you try to suppress your grief feelings, they will only come back later on and sometimes they come back in unhealthy ways. Even though others will probably try to suggest that you should do certain things at certain points in your grief process, it really and truly is up to you and what you feel comfortable doing.  There is no schedule. Some people bury their… Read More

A Friend’s Good Bye Letter

May 28th, 2013
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Last week a childhood friend of my father’s died.  They had known each other since they were in grade school and met each other while playing recess games on the black top when they were about seven or eight years old.  They both went on to attend the same high school, playing basketball, and later both went into the insurance business working for different companies.   Over the years, they stayed in touch with each other as best they could.  They both worked very hard while trying to raise large Irish Catholic families.  My father and mother had six children… Read More

Freedom & Bravery on Memorial Day

May 27th, 2013
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The smell of charcoal lighter fluid has been heavy in the air in my neighborhood this weekend which means that the grilling season is now officially open. Cookouts and parades are just two of the many ways we Americans mark the holiday of Memorial Day, a day when we pause and remember the bravery of the Americans soldiers who are thankfully still with us and those who are sadly deceased because without them we would not have the freedom to enjoy such leisure and peace. American flag displayed at Vietnam Veterans Memorial I recall as a teenager when the draft… Read More

Positive Vibes

May 24th, 2013
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I remind myself every day, all the time in fact, that I have a choice in how I decide to view the world. I can be negative about things, which is self-perpetuating and draining and doesn’t really get me anywhere. Or I can choose to think positively about the amazing and beautiful world around us. Positive thinking brings about positive energy which keeps me going and continually connecting with others. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most folks are about as happy as they choose to be.”  Each day, I think it takes a conscious effort to emphasize the positive and disregard… Read More

Heaven

May 23rd, 2013
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There’s a place where we all want to end up. We know it by name but where is it?  Where is Heaven? I was thinking about Heaven yesterday while attending the wake of a man who was one of my father’s best friends. This man was a good man, worked hard, had a wonderful wife and children and tried to do his best for others.  I’m sure he is in Heaven, wherever that is. I’m also sure that other people that I knew and loved are in Heaven: my husband, all of my grandparents, my aunt and uncles and some… Read More

Socially Yours

May 22nd, 2013
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Stories are constantly written about why we should strive to unplug from our computers, ipads, Smartphones and other electronic devices but I read a work colleague’s Facebook post yesterday and was reminded of how amazing social media truly is. I work with a young guy named Aaron Knights and he was at the incredibly tender age of seven when his beloved father died from cancer at the age of 38.  Think about that for a minute.  Think about what you were like when you were seven.  The idea of losing a parent at that stage of your life is profound… Read More

Shrinks Redefine Grief

May 20th, 2013
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Grief is the normal, natural response to the death of someone you care about. Grief happens because you connect with another human being through love. But if it’s up to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), people who experience the fundemental yet normal process of grief could be routinely diagnosed right away as in a major depression and then prescribed anti-depressants before they have even had a chance to try and work through their feelings of loss on their own. That’s because the APA is changing the definition of certain behaviors such as grief, hoarding and binge eating, among others, in… Read More