Tag Archives: grief
Aurora
Aurora means dawn. Daybreak. An unblemished opportunity to start anew. I am not a morning person, but I do value the chance for a new beginning, and am especially grateful that I get my chance every single day. One doesn’t associate tragedy and terror with the dawn, but in an American suburb called Aurora that is exactly …
For everything there is a season
The first summer without my sister I ran and cried and sweated in our nation’s capital. I quit my job, packed my bags, and moved three thousand miles away. I grew no sunflowers. The second summer without my sister I logged many miles on the roads, slept very little, trembled with anxiety, and took our new puppy to the dog …
28 years of light
Her name was Liz, I said. How many times have I told people the name of my sister since she died? The people who never had the opportunity to meet her, I mean. A handful. A few dozen. I don’t know. Though ever present in my heart and often on my mind, my sister’s story …
and their voices rang into the night
I had dragged my husband to an Indigo Girls concert. We arrived late, general admission tickets in hand. The place was packed. Making our way through the legion of fans, we scanned the crowd and searched for an open space on the lawn. Suddenly I heard someone calling my name. Two close friends and their …
PTSD
This is about that time of the year when I typically start freaking out. I do this internally, unconciously, and regretfully. I should always see it coming, but I confess that I choose to close my eyes. I sense its approach. I am the deer who freezes when the hunter grows near. I know it’s coming. …
A my name is Annie
How does a change in physical appearance affect the inner landscape? This post was prompted by Write on Edge. Observing an unexpected physical change in my grandmother caused something to shift in my young consciousness. It was a long drive from my hometown to my grandparents’ house. My sisters and I sat buckled in and three deep across the back …
Through a child’s eyes
This morning my son’s preschool teacher shared something with me that he told her in the classroom. He said, “You know something that’s so sad? My mom had a sister who died. She was riding her bike and she looked both ways, but there was a truck and a bad guy who had a mask …
Just Move On Already
“Well, now, you’ve just to get over it, don’t you?” she said kindly, and placed a card expressing her condolences on my desk. It was a question that required no response. Get over it… over it… over it. The words resounded silently as I absorbed them, and transformed them into a heavy mantra. No, that …
River’s Edge
I walked to the edge of the island and entered the water. It was bathed in light and I could almost see the current as it flowed briskly around the submerged bank of sand and over the rocky ground beneath the river. I took my heart down to the river’s edge, where I intended to leave it by the shore. I …
Inked in Portland
As the calendar year comes to a close, it seems right to take a look at the past several months, and that includes a visual inspection. My ankle is still healing, and I’ve scheduled an appointment with a wonderful acupuncturist. I’m also playing phone tag with a massage therapist who practices energy healing and am …
