The Great Possession Debate

October 4th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

Sometimes you find help in the most unpredictable places.

Yesterday morning I was reading a column in The Washington Post called Home Front and came across a question from a reader that I thought was timely, on point and more importantly, one that we all probably will have to face at some point or another in our lives.

The questioner wanted to know what to do with the possessions that once belonged to a loved one.  Specifically, the things that belonged to her father, who had recently died.  Inheriting a lifetime of someone else’s possessions can be overwhelming and increase … Read More

Pushing Those Emotional Buttons

September 30th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

I have three sisters and two brothers who are younger than me.  Yes, I am the oldest of six children and we are very close in age.  Growing up and living with such a cast of loved ones has made, and continues to make for many great stories and many great memories. I would say I talk to at least one of my sisters every day and sometimes I talk to all three of them during the coarse of one day.  That’s a lot of yakking, right?  Not really because we also email and text each other. In our own… Read More

Amazing You!

September 26th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

A significant and ongoing part of the grieving process is learning what to do with the confusing feelings you experience. What am I supposed to do with the sad, angry, and surreal emotions I have inside me about the person who used to be in my life?  That person who was here yesterday, but is not here today, and won’t ever be here for a lot more todays in the future.  How can I turn those sad, angry, surreal feelings into constructive feelings so that I can make a future for myself? Acceptance of my new life and my new… Read More

Dear Sugar. . . You Make It So Much Better!

September 25th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

Cheryl Strayed is one of my favorite authors.  I discovered her when I received her New York Times best seller, Wild, as a present this past Christmas.  From the first page, I was all in and couldn’t stop reading and definitely didn’t want her journey in Wild to end. I was totally drawn into every aspect of her memoir and in reading Wild, came to respect the amount of introspection and hard work she put herself through to bring that compelling story out of herself. No other writer that I know of delivers the goods about life and loss the… Read More

Can You Hug Too Much?

September 20th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

Hugs……They’re so healing!We hug when we see someone we really like and haven’t seen in a while; we hug when it’s time to say good-bye. We hug to show we care; we hug to let the other person know we are on their team. We hug to send a special message to another person that they are not alone.  They have a friend; someone who cares what happens to them. We hug to comfort.  We hug to love. We hug because we are human and part of a larger community. We are here to hug.  Each other.  All the time.… Read More

Never Look Away

September 19th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

When you consider the amount of emotional baggage we all carry around with us, it is amazing that we find love. Wounded though our hearts may be, we cannot fight the attraction and pull of another person who catches our fancy. Maybe you have been lucky and found love more than once. I found love with a small l a few times, but found love with a capital L only once.  It’s an amazing, powerful, crazy thing this love emotion that takes us over and keeps us going and truly defines our lives.  It is not to be treated lightly,… Read More

Time Stands Still on Sept. 11

September 11th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

Time will stand still for me this morning around 8:45 a.m. when the clock will remind me that twelve years ago today, the first plane, a hijacked American Airlines jet flying out of Boston, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center, setting into motion national events and policies that permanently changed the way we as a nation live. All I need to do is look at a picture of the Twin Towers and it all comes back to me.  Not only the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City, but also the terrorist attack… Read More

It’s All About Our Stuff

September 5th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

Earlier this week I wrote about finding my deceased husband’s tweed jacket in the back of a guest room closet and what it felt like to discover it. Now, unfortunately, it’s time to say good-bye to his Irish wool jacket.  It doesn’t fit my son and the jacket doesn’t really hold any special meaning for him.  Even though it once belonged to my husband, I have arrived at that point in my life where I know I can’t save everything that holds meaning for me.  Some things you just have to set free into the universe. In my head, I … Read More

Step Into Every Blessed Second of Life

September 4th, 2013
Posted By: Mary Kate Cranston

I know today is Wednesday and that I have to go to work. But other than that, I really don’t know what the day has in store for me. I’m sure I will talk to someone in my family and maybe also talk to one of my good friends, and I will work hard today to get some tasks accomplished in the office that need my attention. Some of what happens today is up to me. How will I react as I drive to work? Will I keep a smart remark to myself or feel the need to blurt it… Read More