Loss & Grief
As Our Kids Get Older, We Get a New Always
My daughter decided at the last minute to come home for the weekend. She had only been back one night since January so she needed the respite that only home can provide. We loved on her, and she loved right back. We made her favorite cinnamon rolls, had lunch with...
The Journey of Grief
I couldn’t sleep the other night. I tossed and turned all night, unsure why I felt so uneasy and unsettled. Something was off and I couldn’t put my finger on it until I looked at my photo archives and it validated what I wondered. One year ago was the last day I...
Choosing The Good Stuff is Not Always The Easy Choice
The text came on Sunday afternoon from my daughter who’s home from college. She knew I was off work the next day and needed what she calls the “basics”— solid colored shirts, t-shirts, and jeans. She asked to go shopping together, about two hours away from where we...
No Goodbye Is An Easy Goodbye
They prepare you for the first goodbye. You know what to expect and you feel armed with tools to get you through. Lunches with friends, traveling, remodeling a room or two, finding new interests. It helps salve the parent-heart that suddenly feels so lost and...
A Business Trip To Remember
It’s a business trip I told my husband. I was leaving for the beach but not to go relax or rejuvenate. I had a job to do. In July, my mom asked me to chaperone her to her 60th high school class reunion. She’s a proud member of the Class of 1962, Laguna Beach High...
He Called Her “My Person”
This week I helped a grown man process the death of his mom. She died when he was 12 years old and he now has a full beard and a chiseled jawline. He is not the same little boy... but his heart is the same little heart. For so many years he had held his sadness and...
Goodbye, Sweet Boy
Two nights ago, I received a message no one wants to get. My precious cousin took his life. He was 45 years young. It was a gut-wrenching moment. Heartbroken. Tears. Sadness. Statistics show that around 800,000 people die by suicide every year, and it’s the...
Her Brain Might Forget This Day But I Know Her Heart Won’t
My mom is in a hard season of life. Her memory is no longer what it used to be. She knows what is happening and it's hard for her. A retired schoolteacher and principal, she’s a smart and well-read lady. She forever thirsted for more knowledge and always wanted...
Growing Up, One Last at a Time
“At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it”. My oldest son grew up with friends like the boys from the movie "The Sandlot". They started kindergarten together and they were a force to...
One Word… Bittersweet
Yesterday we dropped my sweet middle child off at college. He has a new home now and it’s a milestone in his life for sure. And in mine. It's the day I have dreamed of and the day I have dreaded all wrapped up in one big good-bye hug. My heart is washed over...
