There's no sugarcoating it ... Grief sucks. It sucks up and down and all around. There are few words that can encapsulate the experience of grief, and the burden it is to carry. And although the annihilating pain that grief (so generously) offers may be universal, it is also never uniform. Just as we love … Continue reading Grief + Gratitude – My Most Unexpected Experience Of Loss
Today marks six years since my mama left this earth. That's six trips around where I haven't mercilessly teased her. Six holiday seasons without the unbeatable aroma of her cooking filling the air. Six years without a night on the couch, where we shared one too many glasses of wine and stayed up late into … Continue reading Lost & Found – Reflecting On Six Years Of Grief
This coming Monday will mark six years since I last spoke to my mama. It was a blue sky Saturday ... a day like any other. I woke up and made breakfast for the two of us (baked eggs in avocados), and after sitting down and eating, we shared a pot of coffee. During that … Continue reading Words Unsaid – Grieving In Retrospect [Six Years Later]
Life as a 'Motherless Daughter' means noting her absence during a lot of big moments. She died in my early twenties, and now as my thirtieth birthday looms at the end of this year, I look back on the most transformative era of my life, and can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I … Continue reading When I Miss My Mom The Most
"Don't look back. You're not going that way." "You're not going that way." A few years ago, I stumbled across this quote on Instagram. It wasn't the first time I'd ever seen these words, but for some reason, this particular time, it stood out to me in a new way. In true millennial fashion, it … Continue reading Looking Backward While Moving Forward – The Art Of Love and Loss
Merry Christmas Eve! My friends, I am not a poet. By alas, for my last post of #BLOGMAS, I thought I'd share a poem nonetheless. In the spirit of Christmas Eve, here is my Christmas Eve poem, aptly titled: Love and Loss on Christmas Eve. In the quiet moments, on this Christmas Eve, Our hearts aglow … Continue reading Love and Loss on Christmas Eve
"The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear." Buddy the Elf There are few fictional characters I relate to as much as I do Buddy the Elf. I've always been on the rather extreme end of the Christmas spirit, and like him, I will boldly say that smiling truly … Continue reading When Mental Health Gets In The Way Of The Christmas Spirit
For my entire life, I've been the kind of person who's puts a lot of value on place. For example ... My childhood bedroom, with it's pink walls and purple-haired-doll wallpaper, held more memories of imagination and wonder than any place else on earth. I can close my eyes and imagine the warmth against my back, … Continue reading A Place To Call Home
“There's no great loss without some small gain.” Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House On The Prairie For a very long time, I thought I was the kind of person who thrived on change. I thought that I took on new adventures with a smile, simply because of who I innately was. I believed that there was … Continue reading Unchosen Change
If my mama were here on earth, today would be her 56th birthday. Of course, she'd insist we pretend it was her 35th, but regardless of her teasing reluctance to admit her age, she wouldn't shy away from celebrating. She certainly didn't on her final birthday here on earth, at least. That birthday was her 50th, … Continue reading Birthdays In Heaven
Heather Jane 