My daughter takes Spanish at her Catholic school. Her Spanish instructor does a short unit on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in October. My daughter and I have talked about the Day of the Dead for a while and, because we talk about our dead family members quite a bit, she askedContinueContinue reading “Making a Simple Dia De Los Muertos Ofrenda”
Category Archives: Living in Grief
Year 11: Reclaiming My Strength
Eleven years. Here we go again… After watching Stranger Things, I almost feel like eleven years should hold something magical and otherworldly, lifesaving, sacrificing, or revelatory. What does eleven years feel like? Fresh. Still raw. Still hurt. Still missing a chunk of myself. I find myself thinking “I need to call my mom” more andContinueContinue reading “Year 11: Reclaiming My Strength”
Birthday Blahs
It’s my birthday month, and my birthday daughter’s birthday month. My mom has been gone for over nine years, and I still hate this month. I don’t like my birthday anymore. This grief calendar thing is so real. Every September, I feel it, sometimes more acutely than others. I felt bad a few days ago,ContinueContinue reading “Birthday Blahs”
Year 9: New Places & Picking Up Loose Ends
This ninth year was one of big changes. My family and I moved across the country, from one coast to the other. It was spurred by a desire for more adventure and to escape the harsh and isolating New England winter. Employment opportunities soon followed, and it was like the move was meant to be.ContinueContinue reading “Year 9: New Places & Picking Up Loose Ends”
8 Years…
March 5 marked eight years since my mother’s death. This was a rough year. Year eight was one of the worst emotional years I’ve had in five years. And it was the year I succeeded in doing something my mother spoke of doing but could not. This was a year of shedding more of theContinueContinue reading “8 Years…”
Lasts Things: Valentine’s Day
I have never been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. The candy, yes! But not so much the holiday. I got caught up in the hoopla as a teen, but even then enjoyed the day as more of a silly holiday better spent with friends. My parents and I have exchanged cards and little funContinueContinue reading “Lasts Things: Valentine’s Day”
My “Dry” January 2023
Typically, Dry January refers to a month of abstention from alcohol (and maybe whatever else was overabundant in the pre-new year holiday season). After an emotionally exhausting and panic-attack-filled 2022, I decided to do my own grief version of a “Dry January” in 2023. 2022 was awful, and I wanted to begin a practice ofContinueContinue reading “My “Dry” January 2023″
A Year For Rest
I am so happy to see 2022 go…it was a difficult year full of exhausting experiences and habits that I would not like to continue…ever. The year was full of family health traumas (I do know that for the people directly affected by these health issues, the year was far more stressful and exhausting) whichContinueContinue reading “A Year For Rest”
7 Years
Today is the seventh anniversary of my mother’s death. Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com The week comes, as it always does, with a physical heaviness that just makes me tired. I want to lie down more than usual. I’m not emotional, per se, just…tired. The past year has been spent in pandemic and thought.ContinueContinue reading “7 Years”
Six Years and Counting…
What have I reflected on as I come to end of year six? This is my grief six years in.