Working Through Grief

Caregiving And Magical Thinking

April 1st, 2016
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caregiving-heart

When I typed “caregiving” into the Google search bar the following phrases immediately came up:

Caregiving is difficult

Caregiving is ruining my marriage

Caregiving is a thankless job

Caregiving is killing me

Wow!.  More and more families are faced with issues of caregiving and are feeling the physical and emotional drain of it no matter how much you care about and love the person you are trying to help.

Caregiving can be rewarding in surprising ways but it also can be challenging in ways you never imagined.

I come from a large family and I really can’t remember a time … Read More

A Graceful Monday

March 14th, 2016
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Shhhh….something tells me it’s Monday. I’m feeling mellow this morning and perhaps this has something to do with turning the clocks forward this past weekend and losing an hour as we spring forward in to daylight savings time.  I totally love the longer day, full of more daylight and opportunities to socialize outdoors, but I have to admit that it is a bit of an adjustment for the body, especially in the beginning. I’m moving a bit slowly today as I’m sure you might be too.  Sort of like molasses or even like a garden snail. Spring will arrive soon… Read More

Pat Conroy

March 11th, 2016
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Photo Courtesy of CNN The most powerful words in English are ‘Tell me a story’  ~ Pat Conroy In the midst of all the hurly burly reporting of election politics that’s boldly been crowding our daily headlines,  there was a sad piece of human news last weekend that I felt got lost in the shuffle: Pat Conroy, a courageous man and super talented writer, lost his battle to cancer and died at the age of 70. I say courageous because that’s the first word that comes to my mind when I think of him and his unusual ability to intimately… Read More

She Works Hard For The Money

February 26th, 2016
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Let’s talk about money. I know.  The subject of money is a delicate one for it goes to the core of our values, our lifestyles and perhaps even the pride we take in being able to support ourselves. Whether you are 18 or 81-years-old, single, married or widowed, every woman needs to know the financial facts about owning a home and knowing where and how much money is currently in the bank.  Please don’t think that someone is going to go out of their way to explain it to you.  If you already have a person who is helping you… Read More

Drinking Sunshine

February 22nd, 2016
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    This past weekend the winter weather window opened up for a well-timed warming trend and for a few hours our buddy The Sun popped through the cold and the clouds and energized everything in its path. It gave me hope that Spring is really and truly on the way and with it a renewed sense of purpose. What an energy boost! As I sat in my car waiting for the traffic light to turn green, I closed my eyes and drank in as much sunshine and Vitamin D as possible.  Basking in the sun always gives me a… Read More

Do I Have To Go?

February 19th, 2016
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      When I was a young child, maybe eight or nine years old, my Mom said something to me about the meaning of paying your last respects to those people whom you care about that has stayed with me my whole life. She was talking to me about a family funeral that she and my Dad were getting ready to attend. I remember it as one of those conversations where I followed her from room to room as she talked.  This was not unusual given that she had six children to keep track of so if you wanted… Read More

Thinking about Cupid

February 12th, 2016
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  In Roman mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of love and this coming weekend is all about Cupid, a funny and fickle little guy associated with the warm and fuzzy feelings of desire, affection and love! What is this thing called love?  Well, it’s one big powerful field of unbelievable emotion that practically knocks you over the first time you experience it.  Being in love and giving love are some of the most exhilarating feelings in the whole world and if I had my way we would all be feeling it as much as possible on… Read More

Guess Who’s Breathing?

January 29th, 2016
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  I am.  You are.  Everyone is. If we don’t breath, then we’re in big trouble, right? But we can change the rhythm of our breathing depending on what’s happening to us. It sounds so simple doesn’t it?  Just change.  But I have found it takes practice.  It takes being aware of what I’m doing. Many times, without realizing it, I find I am walking around almost holding my breath because I am dealing with two or three things at the same time.  Sometimes I’m at work or I can be at home but I am not fully breathing when… Read More

Best Friends To The Rescue

January 22nd, 2016
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Random and spontaneous acts of kindness are never forgotten. The kind and generous acts that my friends have given to me throughout the years stand out as Technicolor slides in my memory bank. I will never forget the many wonderful gifts of spirit and self that have come my way when I was going through troubled times and when I am reminded of some of them I quickly think of the hospital visits, the long telephone calls and face to face chats, the home cooked meals, and especially the watching of my son when he was a child. I feel… Read More