honoring loss

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!

Life is uncertain, eat dessert firstRecently I went to a nearby small town art fair, which was a delightful way to spend a nice Saturday in the summer.  While walking down the side walk of this small town, I spotted this sign in front of a restaurant.  I loved it because it spoke so much to me about how we all live our lives.

Life is so full things we “should do”

I started to think about all the things in life that we are supposed to do,  or should do and how they are done in cultural or societal defined ways.… Continue reading

Honoring The Memories of Loved Ones

Honoring the memories of our loved ones is important, it is personal and individual. Some people find great solace in with visits to a cemetery, others honor with religious services.  Each year on the anniversary of my husband’s death I write a poem.  For me writing is  a therapeutic expression of how I am feeling about my own personal grief journey.   I also have a martini every year and make a toast to my husband! It’s just a personal meaningful gesture, both bittersweet and joy filled at the same time. Here is this years poem…… Continue reading

When do we stop acknowledging a loss?

Jan LaPitz

From as early as I can remember my Dad’s mother brought up the subject of her child that only lived a few days after he was born.  That was my first encounter with death.   My grandma would recall vivid details of her child’s birth and his death as if it had happened recently.  I never took note of the date, or even the month when she started talking about him.  As I think about it now I probably should have.  As a little kid it was kind of creepy to have Grams talking about her dead baby.  As I got older I felt sad for her.  There didn’t seem to be any way to comfort her except to listen to her tell her story.  On the other hand no one else in the family ever mentioned the dead baby, not Grandpa, my Dad or Dad’s sister.  I think I may have been the only person Gram’s could talk to about her baby that didn’t live.  How sad is that. Continue reading