Comforting My Peeps

February 5th, 2015
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“We are each other’s harvest;

We are each other’s business:

we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

~ Gwendolyn Brooks

 Care giving is on my mind these days as my siblings and I offer additional support to our parents.

Giving care to those who are ill, to those who are babies, to those who are elderly and to those who are recuperating is one of the most selfless and loving acts a person can do for another.  Yet it can also be challenging for you, as the caregiver, are balancing so many mental and physical needs.

The obvious ones are … Read More

Permission To Feel

January 14th, 2015
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There are times when I read something that clarifies an issue for me or it helps me connect the dots of information I have spread about in my brain and when this happens I want to share it for the information might also be a great resource for you too! In this case, it is an incredibly insightful piece that I read in this past Sunday’s New York Times.  It is written by Patrick O’Malley, a psychotherapist from Fort Worth, Texas, and his opinion piece addresses why people tend to grieve the way they think others want them to grieve,… Read More

Helping Teenagers With Grief

December 19th, 2014
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We are deep into the season of celebrating the holidays and messages of merriness are everywhere. Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post But what happens to teenagers when they are trying to cope with school and social pressures and then the parent of one of their friends dies? Or someone in their family dies? Adults are busy tending to shopping, decorating, cooking and organizing so it could be fairly easy to miss that the teenagers in your life might be having some difficulties at this time of year.  Are they spending a little bit more time by themselves or are they… Read More

A Poem Of Comfort

October 27th, 2014
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Today I send heartfelt prayers to a wonderful woman and mother of three children who has been a close friend of my family’s for decades and is tragically in the process of saying good-bye to her beloved husband currently being taken care of in an ICU unit of a local hospital. I know that words cannot take away her deep pain but I send them in hopes that they may bring some small measure of comfort.  Perhaps there is someone in your life who is also bearing a burden of sorrow and is in need of words that lets them… Read More

Creative Healing

October 22nd, 2014
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Photo By Patti RaabBlue Grotto Isle of Capri I find the word healing to be a comforting word.  You know how there are some words that when you say them or read them they just make you feel better, more peaceful?  Well, that’s the way that I feel about the word healing. When I think about healing, I feel as though I have softly placed a cozy blanket around myself.  Protected.  I could be with someone I care about or I could be by myself.  But when I think about coming to a place of healing I think about using… Read More

Your Truck Is Now My Truck

October 15th, 2014
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I admit up front that I’m arriving late to the party that has been going on ever since the release of American country singer Lee Brice’s memorable hit song, “I Drive Your Truck.” It’s hard to believe but I just recently discovered this poignant and healing song that was awarded Song of the Year honors at the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards, as well as Song of the Year at the 49th annual Academy of Country Music Awards was released in 2012.  I don’t know what I was doing at the time this song hit the airwaves but I… Read More

Grief in ShondaLand

October 10th, 2014
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Every week when I join fellow Gladiators to tune in to Scandal, ABC’s groundbreaking hit series created by the multi-talented award-winning writer Shonda Rhimes, I anticipate seeing fast-paced cutting edge programming about political corruption, espionage, murder, all kinds of sexual affairs and even some weird and bloody torture. It all feels very forbidden and unpredictable which is what I think makes Scandal such great television. And if the topics above aren’t enough to keep us guessing about the fate of Scandal’s characters, we can now add grief to the list of forbidden subjects that Scandal masterfully airs. It is surprising… Read More

A Lady From Spokane

October 8th, 2014
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She was a rabid Washington Redskins fan, she took pride in her well-kept hairdo and manicured fingernails, and she loved to have a good stiff drink with a cigarette. She was also a cancer patient and a kind soul who would help you in any way she could. Sadly, yesterday morning, I received a phone call telling me I had lost my good friend to cancer. I had known this lady from Spokane for almost four decades.  I first got to know her and her husband when they lived and worked in Washington, DC.  Then they retired, bought a home… Read More

Believe Something Good

October 3rd, 2014
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It’s been a long week.  Five full days of flat out working, thinking, planning, creating and sometimes worrying. Does this sound like the way your week unrolled?  Or maybe your week was more exciting? Either way, please join me in a big shout out to the end of the week: HAPPY FRIDAY!! Little by little, things got done and accomplishments happened; especially a goal I had set up for myself at the beginning of the week to put aside time to reach out to those close to me who are in need of encouragement and emotional support. I hope for… Read More