It’s the anniversary of your dad’s death ten years ago. You think about how fast he went that day. You knew he was dying. You wish you had crawled in bed with him like you have heard others do. But dying is messy, at least it was for your Dad. Maybe it was because it…
Category: Grief/Sibling/Adult sibling loss
The Aftermath of Five Frenzied Weeks Part two
Dear Reader – In my last post, I left you with our “old” house empty and boxes everywhere in the “new” place,” having returned from a week in Wisconsin with family. I promised to tell you about the aftermath of the five frenzied weeks we moved from our home of forty-three years. (Read about it…
Dear Little Growing-out-of-the-Rock Tree: Good and Scary, Yesterday and Forever Ago, and the Beautiful Difference
Dearest Readers: This post was published earlier but MailChimp decided to make some changes and you never received notice of its publication. I’m in business again because of my son, Todd, who is for the time being anyway, my favorite son. Don’t tell the others. If you know Todd and want to see what he…
Happy Birthday Little Sister
Dear Readers, It’s my Little Sister’s 64th birthday. Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, know I’ll most likely pack a lunch and head to Lake Michigan. There I’ll wander the beach, keeping an eye out for a meaningfully-shaped rock or a piece of beach glass, a reminder the broken can…
Giving Voice to my Grief through Writing
I dabbled at writing a diary in high school, but that diary disappeared along with the one I started my first year in college – the one where I carefully noted every interaction with any boy down to the detail of what was said and done so that someday I could return to said…
From Uninvited Guest to Friend
Oh, Hello Grief. Here you are, a little early. Tomorrow would have been my brother’s 56th birthday“ another bittersweet day to celebrate without him. This will be the seventh time since he lost his way in his beloved Montana Mountains and died of hypothermia. I was hoping you wouldn’t show up this year. That’s the…
Before and After – Place of Refuge
Early October, 2005, we drive down US1 with dear friends, stopping along the way as we observe the stunning beauty of the northern California coast. This trip provides me with a gift I would need soon. With signs promising an ocean view, we walk through the pedestrian walkway under US 1 along the coast, just…
A Friend, Twelve Years In The Making
It is 12:32am November 8th as I write this. In just 6 1/2 hours it will be twelve years since I heard the words, “He’s gone” after waiting and hoping and praying for 32 hours my brother would be found – missing in the Montana mountains on a hunting trip. (I wrote about it HERE:…
Joy and Sadness – “Inside Out” Movie Got It Right
It is sunset here at the Lake. Your Creation, Lord, does its work. as the chatter in my head fades away. And in the silence, my friend, Sadness, cautiously peeks out behind the Weeping Willow Tree to see if it is safe. I have been ignoring her, much of today spent in what I now…
Dark Chocolate, White Wine and A Little Sister’s Birthday
Dear Little Sister Brenda, Today, August 28, you would be 59 years old. Since you came and went so fast, all in the same day, I know nothing about you. All I can do is try and imagine. Daddy was the only one who saw you. He said you were perfectly formed. Often I have wished…