5 Things TO SAY to a Griever

5 Things TO SAY to a Griever

There's not much you CAN say that helps someone who is actively grieving a significant loss - all they want is their person back or their previous life back, but this is always a question that people ask me... So here's my list of 5 Things TO SAY to a griever and,...

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15 Things NOT to Say to a Griever and Why

15 Things NOT to Say to a Griever and Why

People say all sorts of things when your person dies and most of it is NOT helpful. Don't get me wrong - of course it probably comes from a good place... and yes, I recognize that people don't always know what to say to the grieving. Grievers are uncomfortable to be...

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FACEBOOK POSTS OF OUR TRAUMATIC WEEK

FACEBOOK POSTS OF OUR TRAUMATIC WEEK

Our storm begins on the evening of Sunday, February 12th of 2017. My husband left our home to attend a football meeting with other area football coaches. Two-hours later I received a phone call from another coach from another coach's cell-phone, "hurry quick, Eric's...

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4 Immediate Tips of Advice to Surviving Widowhood

4 Immediate Tips of Advice to Surviving Widowhood

First of all, before I get into my 4 IMMEDIATE TIPS OF ADVICE, I want to let you know that I know this is hard right now. And yes, it's painful. And I'm sorry. Continuing to live a life when your person is not here anymore might just be the hardest thing you ever do....

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EMOTIONAL ENERGIES

EMOTIONAL ENERGIES

I first learned about this concept as a Grief Recovery Specialist® from the book "When Children Grieve" by John W James and Russell Freidman, coauthors/founders of The Grief Recovery Method®.   EMOTIONAL ENERGIES   It's an activity meant to help adults help...

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How to Help Someone in Grief

How to Help Someone in Grief

  This is gonna be a long one....   I am often asked how to help a griever. "[A good friend of mine | a neighbor | my kids' bestfriend's mom | fill-in-the-blank]'s husband died... what should I do? How can I help?"    First of all i hate this for all of...

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5 Tips When There’s a Griever at the Family Gathering

5 Tips When There’s a Griever at the Family Gathering

I've been the griever at the family gathering. My family and friends did their best, I'm not razzing them... but I want to give you 5 tips on what to do or what to expect if there's a griever amongst your gathering.  Why? Because I've been there. As a young widow. And...

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Suffering, Self-Care, and Kindness during Grief

Suffering, Self-Care, and Kindness during Grief

If I take the time to stop and really think about those hard times after my husband died, I can almost instantly get pulled right back into those moments. I remember they were painful...     I didn't know that I could survive my grief. But I'm here, so I...

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40+ Grief Induced Life Experiences

40+ Grief Induced Life Experiences

You might be surprised to learn that there are over 40 different life experiences where you might feel grief. According to the Grief Recovery Institute®, Grief is the normal and natural response to any type of loss at all - it's the conflicting feelings caused by the...

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the Waiting Room

the Waiting Room

Are you in the waiting room with your old friend, Grief? Christina Rasmussen, author of the book, SECOND FIRSTS, refers to a “waiting room.” And with all the work I’ve done to understand grief – and through my own personal experience with grief - it makes sense.  The...

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a Hope & Healing Workshop

a Hope & Healing Workshop

I held the bowl in my hands. It was solid. Weighted, grounded. Whole. Beautiful, almost flawless. It had its purpose and I’m sure it served it well. The bowl represented me, in my previous life. I wondered how long it had its shape, for how long it had been whole. I...

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Me, Makeup, and Grief

Me, Makeup, and Grief

My husband died February 2017. Unexpectedly. A massive ruptured brain aneurysm. His death was instant and sudden and just a few hours after he left the house yelling "goodbye" and that he loved us. Eric was only 43. I was 38. Our girls were 8 and 11 at the time. And...

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ARUBA! How We Fly For Free!

ARUBA! How We Fly For Free!

My husband died almost 3 years ago. He and I valued traveling, reconnecting as a family, reawakening with nature, feeling and seeing the beauty of God's creations. We traveled a lot, but don't be impressed. It was mostly a shit ton of camping trips. Drive 8-hours in...

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In my Previous Life

In my Previous Life

Don't get me wrong, my previous life was beautiful. It was filled with so much goodness - especially in my wonderful marriage. There's so many things that we did right....       B U T... In my previous life I wore rose-colored glasses. Everything could be fixed with a...

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Why I Refuse to See Breakthrough

Why I Refuse to See Breakthrough

Breakthrough.     I'm sure it's amazing. I'm sure it's inspiring. I'm sure it's moving. And I'm sure it's changing lives and bringing people closer to God and that it's a great thing. And in another life I would have seen it, posted on social media about how...

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the Fairy Garden

the Fairy Garden

Okay, people, this may be one of the cutest things I've ever created besides my two daughters... First of all, it's summer. And my 11-yo, Laurel, desperately needs projects to keep her busy. She's made a huge ass bucket list; one being a 'she-shed' and suggesting a...

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Grief Books

Grief Books

When my husband died unexpectedly and suddenly in February 2017 gifts upon gifts were given to us by friends, family, and the community - heck, even strangers - and many of those included books; grief books. And I'd thumb through some of them... actually I thumbed...

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How To Memorialize a Facebook Account

How To Memorialize a Facebook Account

Reasons I wanted to Memorialize Eric's Facebook Account:   So no one would hack into it. So Eric's birthday reminder wouldn't be sent to his friend list, and he won't show up as a suggested "friend you might know" to others. I wanted Eric to be able to look...

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Etsy Grief Items I Bought After My Husband Died

Etsy Grief Items I Bought After My Husband Died

People constantly ask me questions about what we went through when my husband died, or how we did this or that and why. One of the questions I get are about the gift items I had done... either gifts for us or for others to commemorate Eric.   If you're new to me,...

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