Cry Laugh Heal

Remember Bookstores?

November 1st, 2012
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Washington, DC’s historic Union Station

I read yesterday that another bookstore — Barnes & Noble in Union Station — is biting the dust and it’s just incredible to me that a bookstore, in the nation’s capitol, in a train station, where you can buy a wide variety of things to read, is closing.

I posted about this wonderful book store in December 2011 (Books @ Union Station December 8, 2011) and find it sad that it will soon be closed.  Do people not read books anymore?  I find that hard to believe.  Whenever I’m on Metro people are reading and … Read More

Homeless During A Hurricane

October 31st, 2012
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Jose Andres Jose Andres is an internationally recognized celebrity chef who owns and operates several restaurants in the Washington, DC metropolitan area: Jaleo, Zaytinya and Oyamel.  It doesn’t matter which one you choose, all of them serve delicious and innovative menus.  Personally, I love Oyamel and my son loves Jaleo. Andres, born in Spain, is a busy, busy guy running his critically acclaimed and commercially successful business ventures but he also cares about his community and finds time to give back. This weekend, as news reports forecast the arrival of Hurricane Sandy’s on the East Coast, Andres rolled up his… Read More

Home Sweet Home

October 30th, 2012
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Yesterday was a well needed luxury: a whole day spent at home. I have not had one of those days for months and I really needed it.  A day to catch my breath and try to put things back in place.  A day with no schedule.  A day of waiting for Hurricane Sandy to slam into the East Coast so I didn’t feel bad about staying inside and tending to my nest. Recently, there has been so many medical developments going on in my family that my time has been spent on more important things: other people’s health needs.  As… Read More

Oh Sandy — Please Be Kind

October 29th, 2012
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Let’s see…Hurricane Sandy, with all her power and threatening ability to destroy most of everything in her path, is currently working her way up the East Coast ready to hit land somewhere in the metropolitan DC area or thereabouts. The federal government has announced it is shut down for Monday and so is Amtrak, most of the  schools in DC, Maryland and northern Virginia and Metro bus and rail service. Everyone I know has gone to the grocery store, filled up their gas tanks, cleaned out their gutters and stairwells and is bracing for one horrific storm.  My son is… Read More

It’s Not What You Think

October 26th, 2012
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  To show you how little I knew about loss and the grieving process, I thought that the first year after my husband’s death was going to be the hardest time that I would ever have to experience.  My thinking was something along the lines of  “If I can get the first year under my belt, then each year after that will become easier to handle.” Right? Guess what? Not. Always. True. Grief is always full of surprises and just when you think you have it under control, you don’t. The first year was so raw with emotion for me… Read More

Bring On The Margaritas

October 25th, 2012
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  Courtesy of Coastal Living It’s almost Halloween yet yesterday’s temperature here in Washington, DC hit 80 degrees. It is so hard to stay at my desk and work at the computer when I would rather go outside and take advantage of the incredible weather.  All I want to do is leave my office and jump in the car and drive to the beach and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the sand between my bare toes. To my flip flops, T-shirts and shorts: don’t give up hope.  I am not packing you away yet!! Beach On!!… Read More

Finding Grief Support

October 24th, 2012
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I recently went back to the beginning of Cry Laugh Heal and read my the first post from 2010 and it brought all the crazy grieving feelings back to me: exhaustion, numbness, raw emotions, the scary future and sometimes even laughter! But it also reminded how great my support group was during that time and how it gave me the priceless gift of hope and helped me feel that life really would get better (somehow?!?!) even though my sweetheart of a husband died.  As I met with my small group twice a month, some sessions were incredibly upsetting and some… Read More

Peace Is The Way

October 23rd, 2012
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PEACE IS THE WAY By Alan Nordstrom “There is no way to peace; peace is the way,” Wise Gandhi said, by which I think he meant We have to be that which we seek, and play The role we would become with clear intent. For as I think and act so shall I be, And so the world around me shall become: If violently, then war shall vanquish me; If lovingly, then peace shall still the drum. It’s in our hands and hearts and minds to choose The manner we live by, day after day: Shall it be marching boots… Read More

The Big 300

October 22nd, 2012
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Today marks my 300th post. It’s a personal milestone and truly a huge deal for me.  Big thanks go out to all of my family (especially my son, Ryan, who is my biggest blog cheerleader), friends and readers out there in the internet world who read Cry, Laugh, Heal.   You give me more than you know and I read and respond to all of the great feedback I receive!  And I hope to receive lots more feedback as I continue to write about the incredibly silly, sometimes sad and mostly spontaneous events that happen to me on my new journey… Read More