What Do I Need to Do When Someone Dies?
When my mother died I thought I was prepared. My mother had battled cancer for 10 years and the final nine months we all knew that this was a war she would not win. My
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Getting Through the Scary Times
Halloween can conjure up ghosts, skeletons, and scary stuff. But you know what’s really scary? Losing someone you care about. I recently lost two friends and watched how they and their families navigated this journey.
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When the Time Comes
By now most of you know that I have control issues. So you will not be surprised that I feel strongly about making my own “exit plans”. You know what I am talking about: deciding
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Special Species
Did you know that we are the only species on this planet that know we are going to die? Have you ever thought why God made us this way? Many of us don’t give it
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Carlos – The Priceless Pearl
He was my daughter’s hairdresser. He was my grandson’s barber. When my second grandson was born and I was visiting; my daughter asked me to go with her so that I could hold the baby
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“Checking Out” the Future
There are those in my family that feel I spend too much time thinking and talking about death and dying. Perhaps I do think about it more than most – but not in a sad
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Anticipatory Grief: Friend or Foe?
My friend and writer’s accountability partner has just published her debut book, Anticipatory Grief – The Journey of a Thousand Losses and Endless Grace by Tracy Pratt. I had never heard the term before but
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Cogitating at 3 am
As I trudged into the bathroom for my third visit of the night, I began to review my health status. The review went something like this. At 64 I have more aches and pains than
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When It Takes Two to Canoe – Part III For the past couple of weeks we’ve been exploring the rivers of caregivers verses care receivers and have noticed that each crew member shares many of
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Ode to an Angel
“He who learns must suffer and even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart. In our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful
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Living with Dying.
Living with Dying I’ve had a lot of time to think about dying. I experienced death at the early age of 5 with the loss of my first dog, then at 11 with my dad’s
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Are We Playing God?
My sister in law was called home this month. Suffering from vascular dementia for many years; it was a long goodbye. A talented musician, a gifted nurse, and a loving wife, mother and grandmother her
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