Category: good grief

A bird in the hand

by Karen, posted in chicks, good grief, no fear, raising chickens

One of my roles is Farmer (well, Wife of Farmer, to be more accurate). As such, I have a morning (and evening) routine when the primary farmer is away. Get coffee. (Get coffee is always Rule Number One, no matter what). 🙂 Feed the Teenager Chickens in the transitional coop; refill their water as needed. … Continue reading A bird in the hand

Chaos Theory

by Karen, posted in family, good grief, Midlife Crisis, no fear, relationships

When everything around you is falling apart, it can feel like the world is going to end (or maybe you wish that it would). Maybe you're doing your level best to keep things harmonious in your life, but then somehow you lose your focus for a split second. You make a bad decision and suddenly … Continue reading Chaos Theory

The ides of March~Grieving my dead relatives part 5

by Karen, posted in family, good grief

John I always liked the sound of "The Ides of March" from when I'd first come upon the phrase in my reading of Shakespeare. In 1998, it took on a new meaning: the day that my father died. He was on hospice so his death was no surprise. My mother's (who had died 2 years … Continue reading The ides of March~Grieving my dead relatives part 5

March 13

by Karen, posted in family, good grief

My mother's birthday is was March 13; she would have been 71 this year. I wasn't going to write a post about her because I just published one a couple of weeks ago, but here we are. The day started off as many do, with a quick look at Facebook to see if anything was … Continue reading March 13

“You are my sunshine” (Grieving my dead relatives, continued)

by Karen, posted in family, good grief, health

So, it's that time of year again; when the anniversary of the day a relative died rolls around and you try to remember without being too sad. This is my mother. At the time this picture was taken, she was a sister, a daughter. At the time this picture was taken, she was not yet … Continue reading “You are my sunshine” (Grieving my dead relatives, continued)

Gratitude

by Karen, posted in family, good grief, Holidays, Midlife Crisis

I've been keeping a gratitude journal this year. A long time ago, I read Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach and decided to give the "keeping the journal all year" thing a shot.  It was an easy enough premise: write down at least three things that you are grateful for each day. That's it. It starts off fairly … Continue reading Gratitude

Grieving my dead relatives, Thanksgiving edition

by Karen, posted in good grief, Midlife Crisis

While driving home from work last night, I was thinking about something Mom and Dad, way back whenfrom my past and wondering if I should share it with my kids. Now that my parents are gone, I realize that there are lots of times when I have a question about their lives and am sad because there's … Continue reading Grieving my dead relatives, Thanksgiving edition

Val Walker at Kennebooks

by Karen, posted in books, education, family, friends, good grief

Val Walker came to Kennebooks to talk about her new book The Art of Comforting. This author's talk started off feeling like a course in sociology, as she described different models of counseling (companioning, relational....), but then it quickly became more personal, as she related some examples of comforting from occasions in her own life when … Continue reading Val Walker at Kennebooks

A child’s “firsts”

by Karen, posted in family, good grief

I had my first child when I was 29 years old. I started back to school and back to work when he was 8 weeks old. As a full-time student and working mother, I missed a lot of my child's "firsts". Certainly, I knew it was going to be a trade-off; get better educated to get better … Continue reading A child’s “firsts”

Signs (from the dead relatives)

by Karen, posted in family, good grief, tweens

Ever wrestle with a decision, wondering what is the right thing to do in any situation? Sometimes when that happens to me, I'll think, "What would my mother or father do?" or "What would Nana think about this?". Well, the other day I was going back on forth about something, then made my decision and … Continue reading Signs (from the dead relatives)