Right after my brother passed away, a very wise person took me to buy a diary (I was 12, you have diaries at 12.) She literally pulled me from the awkward funeral home viewing and walked me right into Hallmark. I still have that journal and opened it up when…

5 ways I turn my grief triggers into a Tigger. I want you to think about Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. You know the one–orange, black stripes, kooky laugh. Think about how he’s “bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!” …

(Other than that date.) A few months after Andrew passed away, his eighth birthday rolled around. As a family, we weren’t sure what to do. Do we celebrate? Bury ourselves in our beds? Ignore it? Ignoring it didn’t feel right but celebrating didn’t either. As a 13-year old, I decided we would have a…

Look at the picture above. What do you see? Do you see a mess? A work of art? Or a tool used to create? I was on a Zoom call and we were talking about life and how complicated it can be (yes, this was a business meeting, not a…

What I’ve learned from my parent's marriage. Today my parents have been married 42-years. Anyone who has been in a relationship for a while knows that is no small feat. …

I like closure and these last 24-months refuse to go away. I don’t like things being drawn out, I need them buttoned up and dealt with so I can move on. I attribute that to the loss of my brother, and what my parents describe as, my “high need for closure.” Right now, my husband is at work and I’m at…

A letter to my Grandpa who passed away Dear Papa Bear, I don’t know what my first memory of you is. You’ve just always been. I remember staying the night at your house when I was a kid–so many sleepovers. I would wake up for two reasons: you were snoring or you were leaving for work at Dow…