Posts Tagged: love

Crying & Healing

July 8th, 2013
Posted By:

This post is for anyone, and in particular someone who is close to me, who is currently going through an anxious time in their life and is unsure how it will turn out.
Anxiety may be dogging you and causing sleepless nights, loss of appetite, an increase in appetite, a need to abuse alcohol or drugs (please don’t!!!!), crankiness or sadness and crying.  As in crying constantly.  Like every day.  At any time.
This person close to me was talking recently about how crying really does make her feel better but she’s also aware that it doesn’t make others around … Read More

Monkey Bars

July 2nd, 2013
Posted By:

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

Parents Are Human Too

June 28th, 2013
Posted By:

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

Special Birthday Wishes

June 25th, 2013
Posted By:

Twenty three years ago today, my magical son was born! From the bottom of my heart I couldn’t love you more!!  You are a joy and a wonder and watching you grow into a young man is and always will be exciting. I know this past year has been a challenge for you but you have never been one to run away from difficult situations and I know that this coming year holds some good, solid, life-changing news for you!!  I don’t know what the good news will be, but I sense it will be delivered to you this year… Read More

KissyFace

June 21st, 2013
Posted By:

The picture posted on the Facebook page shows a CD leaning against a car dashboard with the following handwritten message written with a Sharpie:  “To KissyFace – From Your Number #1 Fan.” On a different Facebook page, a male friend enthusiastically writes about a recent Washington Nationals baseball game, what the score was and the important plays of the game.  He then ends his post by saying how much he misses his friend.  On the same page, a different friend posts a story that was in that day’s newspaper and says, “I know you would like this story.  It’s your… Read More

Your Dad Is Here

June 16th, 2013
Posted By:

I see my husband in my son in small ways:  the way he rolls up his long sleeved shirts, the set of his jaw when he is annoyed or determined to do something he really wants to accomplish and the way he plays chicken with his car’s gas tank and won’t fill it up until it is almost empty. When I see those traits it is bittersweet: they make me laugh and but they also make me feel a little sad and wistful.    “He is still with us,” I think to myself.  My husband had a very strong personality so… Read More

Embrace Your Journey

June 13th, 2013
Posted By:

“Embrace Your Journey.” You may have wondered why that phrase is listed at the top of my blog underneath the title, “Cry, Laugh, Heal. “ “Embrace Your Journey” is something called a tagline, a phrase to give you — my fantastic, wonderful and supportive readers — a heads up about the things that I’m going to write about.  Things that have helped me to slowly but surely work my way through the loss of my husband, learn to be both mother and father to a young son and develop resilience.  “Embrace Your Journey” helps me to set a tone of… Read More

Life’s Garden of Loved Ones

June 11th, 2013
Posted By:

Two tropical storms have moved through the Washington, DC area recently and we are getting more than our usual dose of rain.  Not complaining because I like the rain.  It’s good for our gardens and everything feels clean after a good downpour. This summer I am trying to pay more attention to the plants in my yard which I guess I think of as my garden even though they are not all planted in one contained space.  I planted some lettuce, rosemary and basil along with geraniums and marigolds.  Watching things grow is hopeful! As you wake-up and embrace today’s… Read More

The Uncertain Path of Newtown’s Mourning Parents

June 10th, 2013
Posted By:

It is rare for a national newspaper to begin a story on its Sunday front page that continues to run for five pages of with lots of pictures and is dedicated to the subject of grief. But that is just what The Washington Post did yesterday and Eli Saslow, who wrote and reported the devastating story, and Linda Davidson, who photographed the compelling pictures for the story, deserve a standing ovation for bringing much needed attention to what life is now like for the Barden family of Newtown, Connecticut, a family in the throes of raw, searingly painful grief as… Read More