Disclaimer: Although my though process post my mother's death has been understandably debilitating, I have not been diagnosed as having a complicated bereavement. If you are looking for information about clinical treatments for this disorder to help someone you know check out The Center for Complicated Grief website. There are many dimensions to grief, many... Continue Reading →
Resilient. Strong. Brave. These are a few adjectives thrown my way these past four weeks. My mother's death left a trail of bills and paperwork that had to be addressed as quickly as possible to ensure we didn't drop the ball and lost valuable assets to non payment or other technicalities. I've become all these... Continue Reading →
Picture this: An explosion of color and exquisite aromas undertake your senses, transforming your daily self-care routine into a relaxing magical adventure. The rush of watching a chemical reaction come to completion when the bath bomb comes in contact with water and dissolves leaving behind a surprise gift, if not at least a more serene... Continue Reading →
For the last two weeks the Pacific Northwest (PNW) has been surprised with a foot or more of cumulative snow fall, a freak occurrence in these parts of the world. (Blame Global Warming!) To survive in the "arctic tundra" there are a few easy tools and procedures you can follow to make your experience more... Continue Reading →
I don't think people get it... I am the person responsible for everything that happened. Me. I was the reason my mother had a plan for everything just to ensure my mental and physical safety. Every decision she ever made was for me, later for us, since the whole point of giving me a sister... Continue Reading →
"SHE IS THE VETERAN!" My uncle, his wife, my sister and I all yell in unison. The Funeral Home's sales representative has been taking down her info for 20 minutes and conveniently forgot what we had said. Every answer to the previous questions revealed aspects of my mother's life that had been private and fuzzy... Continue Reading →
"It's a matter of days now..." Calmly, I booked the next flight out and took my time packing. If the message was accurate, I'd need to take with me clothes fit for a military funeral. The saving grace was that my husband was staying behind and could bring me anything I'd miss; Mom wanted him... Continue Reading →
There are so many little things to be thankful for: MBA grades, new friends, the house, selling the rental Zach, my sister's move-engagement-wedding, and the beautiful memories of DIYs, parties and the new house. The bad came at us strongly; my mom was diagnosed in September with glioblastoma, a rare and incurable form of brain... Continue Reading →
Mom had barely made it to Christmas but my grandmother hadn't. Oh boy! My phone was blown up with messages of worry and urgency. The timing was brilliant and convenient, bare with me, assuming you believe grandma knew of the cancer and opted to avoid burying her firstborn. Between flight prices and obligations I decided... Continue Reading →
