Posts Tagged: emotional resilience

Zumba Zumba

July 17th, 2013
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The guy who invented Zumba, Beto Perez, wears a black sleeveless T-shirt and says to me, “Feel the Music.”
And I do!
I am watching Beto, along with 5 other Zumba dance instructors on a DVD and I am taking the 20 minute Zumba express lesson in my house.
What’s so great about Zumba?
Well, for me Zumba feels more like fun rather than exercise and the workout burns mucho calories which I am always trying to do.  Having discovered Zumba this summer, I am finding it to be everything I heard.  First of all, the music is great!  It’s … Read More

Widow Chick

July 16th, 2013
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I don’t know the woman who writes the amazing blog called “Widow Chick” but I feel as if I do. She (aka Catherine) is to-the-core honest and humorous in writing about her daily travels as a widow and a woman who is trying to be Mom and Dad to three young children.  I regularly read her blog and it always gives me a boost! Widow Chick’s Husband Yesterday she wrote a particularly touching post about an important anniversary in her life and I would like to share it with you because she is right on point in expressing her thoughts… Read More

Dominic Moore’s Comeback After Wife’s Death

July 15th, 2013
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Finding this story in the sports section of the New York Times is a positive sign of how far we as a society have come in our ongoing discussion about grief. Who would have thought even five years ago that a professional athlete would give an intimate interview about dropping out of playing his sport to care for his wife in the last months of her life and how her tragic death changed his priorities? Dominic and Katie Moore The world of professional ice hockey is full of ice, blades, speed, sticks, pucks, mixed in with a very heavy dose… Read More

Bananarama

July 12th, 2013
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I left a couple of bananas on my kitchen counter the other day and the current heat and humidity in Washington, DC ripened them so fast that in two days they were too mushy for my cereal.  I’m not one to throw food away, so I found my trusty banana bread recipe and baked them into golden goodness! This banana bread recipe below is from Martha Stewart’s best-selling book, Entertaining, and I highly recommend making it and having it on hand for a quick breakfast.  I once tried the recipe as muffins and they were okay but the recipe is… Read More

Preventing Burnout

July 3rd, 2013
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Holidays are the best!  They always seem to arrive at the right time, just when we need a break from our daily routines.  Just when we need time out to relax and recharge. Holidays help us take a break, both mentally and physically, from the responsibilities we carry out every day. I intend to sleep in, exercise more, hang out with friends, and read.  I do all of these things on a regular basis but holidays allow me to do them for longer, uninterrupted periods of time.  And I can do them spontaneously which adds to the fun. Holidays also… Read More

Monkey Bars

July 2nd, 2013
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Yesterday I wrote about one small aspect of holding on to a deceased loved one’s material things for a long time.  It’s a rather large emotional minefield of an issue but if you ride along with me for a bit more today maybe we can make some progress together and get on with it. Let’s be real:  nobody wants to hurt and nobody wants to feel pain.  It’s in our DNA to try and protect ourselves and so we naturally want to run away from pain and suffering; even sometimes to deny its existence.  I think this is one of… Read More

Tossing Emotional Baggage

July 1st, 2013
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A spilled box of cereal this weekend took me through an unexpected, yet healthy exercise. While trying to do too many things at the same time in the kitchen, I spilled a box of cereal inside one of my kitchen cabinets.  Don’t you hate it when that happens? It was such a klutzy move and right away I was annoyed with myself.  I looked at the shelf with the cereal spilled everywhere inside the cabinet and knew I was going to have to take everything out and vacuum the shelf.  Damn! What a pain! I knew the sooner I started… Read More

Parents Are Human Too

June 28th, 2013
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While celebrating my son’s birthday recently, he asked me once again what it was like the day he was born. I think every child likes to reminisce about the day of their birth and what everyone was doing as they were arriving into the world.  His questions about how long I was in labor, what was happening in the hospital and what Daddy was doing were expected. But that conversation evolved into a bittersweet conversation about his Dad and some of the frustrating health issues he had before his death.  His Dad (my husband) was diabetic and injected insulin.  He… Read More

Road Trip — Traveling Alone

June 27th, 2013
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I was chatting with one of my friends recently and catching up with the happenings in her life.  We hadn’t spoken for a few months so there was a lot to talk about.  Her husband died about three years ago and she was telling me about the adjustments and bumps in the road that her new life was presenting for her. One big issue was vacation. Sounds great, right?  Easy, right? Just do it, right? Welllllll, it’s not as easy as it sounds if you are still getting used to the idea that you are doing things by yourself.  She… Read More