What my dad would want you to know
Yesterday we celebrated my dad’s life – These are my words: Thank you for coming- we are grateful for the part you have played in the life of our family and for the honor you show by helping us today in honoring the life of Rex. Some of you knew Rex better than others. Some…
November 5th
This is a day seared into my memory forever. It is that mix of complete devastation and holy moments. It was a blend of wanting complete privacy and needing to allow everyone else to say their goodbyes. It is the worst day of my life and the hardest one I have ever known. It is…
What I remember
There are many lives I remember: People who have walked through my life leaving footprints on my heart; voices that whisper kind words that I can still faintly hear; touches through deeds and presence that have given my life purpose and changed its shape. Some I remember by name and some I cannot. Last night…
Grief and Covid
Another friend died of covid. UGH! He was healthy, “young”, a dad and a great husband. This is not supposed to be like this! I feel like I focus way too much on loss and grief. Perhaps that makes me a negative person, but I figure if you don’t care to read my thoughts –…
Using the W word
I am thinking about the day we celebrated Jim in a memorial service on this date in 2010. We had music, balloons, laffy taffy, people from every part of his life and more. It was a “good” day. He was worth celebrating and remembering. I hate the term widow. I don’t know why, but I…
I hear you. I see you.
I have a friend who has had a very hard season and finds herself in the midst of grief and the sad loneliness that comes along for the journey. I have been there, but at the same time I haven’t. Grief is so solitary and unique. The loneliness of grief is so different than regular…
Loss
Eleven years ago today, my husband of 30 years, my best friend, the father of my children and a very creative minister left this life for a better one. Over the years he has continued to impact lives for the better by the memories shared of him and I continue to count it a privilege…
Waves of Grace
Jim. Today I miss you. I could write this every day since you left earth. But today it hurts. Some days are like that – when the reality that half of me is still missing and the phantom pain is more noticeable than before. I am not sure why it is today – it isn’t…
To Die Knowing
Oddly enough one of our pastors wants to “die knowing”; in other words, he wants to be fully awake and conscious that he is dying. I have to think that is an interesting thing to think about. Who thinks of stuff like that? Perhaps it is a better option than not planning for death at…
10 years ago (3,653 days)
It was early in the morning and I had gotten up off the sofa next to the hospital bed to get ready for work. Steve Shepherd was coming over to be with Jim and the kids were getting ready for school. Jim’s breathing was labored, waking me up several times that night. At the time,…