http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/after-losing-three-sisters-to-cancer-bethesda-firefighter-turns-to-advocacy/2011/05/26/AGDZfqHH_story.html
I read this timely story in The Washington Post yesterday about a local fireman, Marshall Moneymaker, who had lost his three older sisters to breast cancer in less than two years. Moneymaker and his wife did all they could to help the three sisters beat this awful disease but it wasn’t enough. After burying three sisters, the enormity of what had happened left Moneymaker emotionally exhausted.
Where do you go when you have felt pain and loss deeper than you ever thought possible?
You can shut down and put out the “Vacant” sign or you can stay involved in … Read More
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I recently re-designed the blog in order to give it a fresher feel. I hope you find it easier to read and more pleasing to the eye.
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Thank you to my wonderful readers!
You are the best!!… Read More
Reach out and listen
No matter what phase of grief you find yourself in, people usually are curious to know if what they are feeling and doing is the “normal” way to handle their situation. I think this happens because grief is not a subject considered to be mainstream. It makes people uncomfortable and is not discussed as freely and as frankly as you might discuss other subjects, say food or men.
People don’t bring it up because they think it will upset you, they are anxious about their emotions or they just have no idea what to say. … Read More
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
— Author James Baldwin
Isn’t it tiresome being a one-person team? Don’t you wish that sometimes you could delegate all of your errands and responsibilities to someone else? Please, please don’t make me…….
I would love to be irresponsible; not permanently, but just for a short amount of time. I would love to take a break from the constant decision making and problem solving; to get in the car and drive somewhere and escape for a bit.
Please join me if you feel,… Read More
A relative who is also a close friend was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and while visiting her she introduced me to the awesome books written by The New York Times best-selling author Kris Carr.
I don’t know how I missed her but I am now totally taken with her philosophy of assessing your personal priorities in order to successfully battle cancer and become a “wellness warrior.”
Carr’s blueprint for self-examination helps you to take stock of how much you actually exercise (not enough), what you actually eat (room for improvement) and what you should eat (more veggies) to how… Read More
“Turn! Turn! Turn!,” a classic pop song performed by the Byrds in the 1960’s, has been playing in my mind recently. The music was written by Pete Seeger and the lyrics were adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes.
To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
Maybe it’s the change in seasons dovetailing with graduations, weddings, engagements and milestone birthdays, but it feels for me as though the times, they are a changin’.
A time to be born, a time to die,
A time to plant, a time… Read More
Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and all the incredible Moms, GrandMoms and other women around the globe who do the most important job in the world!!
Some of you out there may disagree, but I challenge you to find another job that comes close to being as rewarding.
If your Mom is no longer with you, I hope the loving memories you have of her make you smile today.
Being a Mom is the journey of a lifetime. From the bottom of my heart, I have cherished every minute of being a mother to my son who is now… Read More
Grief is a lot of work. I know that sounds ridiculous but it’s true.
And some days I just don’t want to deal with it. Or be reminded of it.
Those days would especially include when I have to fill out a government or school form for my son or myself and instead of writing his father’s name, I have to write in “deceased.” That hurts.
Or I get to pick from the selections of my status: single, married, divorced or widowed. After eight years, you would think I would be used to answering these questions but it still pulls… Read More
When President Obama officially announced on television late last night that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, my thoughts went immediately to the relatives and friends of the thousands of people whose lives were lost in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Flight 93.
For almost ten years, these people have been trying to put the pieces of their shattered lives back together so that they may heal and perhaps build some kind of a future after having their loved ones violently taken from them.
I wondered how and what they were feeling now that… Read More
