Posts Tagged: grief

Sympathy Cards

January 31st, 2012
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Great Letters

Recently, I sat at my desk, intending to write a sympathy card to a good friend but found myself floundering.  I started writing a few phrases and then stopped.

I couldn’t find the right words that I thought would offer comfort.  It was a struggle to get my thoughts on paper and it seemed as if everything I wrote sounded awkward.

I started again.  I opened the card and started to write and stopped.  Maybe I was over thinking what I wanted to say, but everything I came up with sounded so trite.  Of course, I was sorry and very … Read More

Insight from Bridesmaids

January 20th, 2012
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One of the reasons the movie, Bridesmaids, is such a run-away hit is that women either know one of the characters or they see themselves in one of the characters. It’s also an insightful movie about the ups and downs of female friendships. Multi-talented comedian Kristen Wiig plays Annie, a 30ish, single young woman who has hit a rough spot in her life.  Nothing is working.  Her boyfriend uses her, she gets fired from her job, her car breaks down all the time, she moves in with her mother and on top of all that her best friend is getting… Read More

Discovering The Silver Pen

January 18th, 2012
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A close relative just shared this insightful poem with me and my first reaction to it is that  J. Hendel totally nailed it! This poem and others can be found on a beautiful website called The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com).  When I first logged on to The Silver Pen a few days ago, I wondered how I could have missed knowing about this great site since it has been on the internet for a little over three years.  Things like this make me nervous because I start to wonder what else is out there that I don’t know about.  Oh well…I’m… Read More

Tips For The Early Days of Grief

January 16th, 2012
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Photo By Patti Raab A family I know lost their brother right before Christmas and now the same family has suddenly lost their father.  I can’t imagine the waves of shock, pain, anger, despair and confusion they are engulfed in now as they try to work their way through another intense grieving process. Please include them in your thoughts and prayers.  The following article is dedicated to them: The Early Days: Surviving the First Few Days of Bereavement By Greg Wright What are the most important things to know during the first few weeks of bereavement?  Several months ago, my… Read More

#beerbottles

January 14th, 2012
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I’m at the cemetery recently picking up the weatherbeaten Christmas wreath I placed on my husband’s marker weeks ago and I spy four empty Heinekein bottles lying in a puddle of water on a nearby marker. My, my…What do we have here? I’d like to think it was someone’s birthday and four friends or relatives came to celebrate, sing and raise one for their family member or friend. Or maybe one person came and had a good time drinking four beers while talking and singing to their loved one. Either way the empty beer bottles don’t bother me at all.  … Read More

Christmas Sighting Of A Loved One

December 26th, 2011
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In the hustle and bustle of eating, talking and being with my wonderful family yesterday on Christmas Day, I received a unexpected present that I think others who have lost loved ones will be able to identify with.  Maybe this has happened to you but you didn’t tell anyone else about it because you figured they would give you that look that says, “Okayyyyy. Rigghhhttttt.” My son and I were at my parents house and all of my siblings, nieces, nephews were gathered to celebrate Christmas.  There was lots of activity — electronic and human — and everyone was enjoying… Read More

Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

December 23rd, 2011
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Happy Birthday Cry, Laugh Heal!  Yup.  It has actually been one whole year since Cry, Laugh Heal was launched as a blog and I really can’t believe it. How would I measure my first year of blogging? In friendship, in kindness, and in support. That’s what blogging has meant to me.  It has opened up a new world of connecting with others on an emotional level and also has given me new resources for information and that is exhilarating.   Along with my son’s help, I pushed myself to learn something new and I am so glad that I did.   … Read More

A Healing Circle of Life

December 7th, 2011
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It’s the holiday season and wreaths are everywhere.  Doors, windows, large buildings and small, I see them indoors and outdoors, even on trucks and cars.  Evergreens, berries, pinecones, and magnolia leaves, the materials that wreaths are made of today seem endless.  If they’re not chock full of tacky plastic stuff, wreaths are welcoming signs, hopeful signs and even peaceful signs. Wreaths are also a sign of faith in humanity and its circular shape represents eternity, for a wreath has no beginning and no end.   Wreaths have been with us since the ancient Greeks and Romans when wreaths were awarded to… Read More

Those Messy Ugly Grief Feelings

December 1st, 2011
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After experiencing a personal loss, everyone has to find their own way of getting back into the game.   Sometimes it’s not pretty. The piece below is from hellogrief.com.  You may not agree with how this woman felt but she is courageous in stepping out from the pack to tell how it really felt for her.  Please give it a read. The One Where I Lie To My Friends Posted On November 8, 2011 @ 8:51 am;  Featured in Parents, Hello Grief   [1]The truth about grief and loss is that they do not always come with pretty, neatly packaged feelings.  Many… Read More