Donate blood lately? I had the honor, if not pleasure, of donating blood recently when the Red Cross Bloodmobile visited our office complex. While there was a good, steady stream of donors, most people in our building did not participate. Why? Well, of course there are many reasons people cannot donate, and the questionnaire for …
Category Archive: Death overview
Discussions about death in general. Mine. Yours. Ours. Everyone WILL die sooner or later. There is no "if" about it.
Oct 12
Turning a page within the same book
I woke up this morning – as many mornings – with you on my mind. It’s been four and a half years since you left me. Four-plus years of heartache and struggle; 54 months of missing you so badly it hurts; lifetimes and ages since I saw the sparkling eyes, heard the infectious laugh, felt …
Apr 13
Time to die, Part 3: There is a season
Back in August I wrote about a near-miss with my oldest dog. I had thought it might be time to put her to sleep, but fortunately I was wrong…. then. She had been struggling with all sorts of weird health symptoms for months. Late last fall we discovered she had diabetes. After changing her diet, …
Dec 14
No maps to traverse landscape of grief
(Written in 2008) Six months ago, I lost my only child to a fatal car accident. She would have turned 19 last September, and I would be planning her visit home from college this Christmas, if that one moment in time had not occurred. Christmastime! Normally, Abigail and I would be chatting on the phone …
Nov 09
Grief and the loss of friendships
Pamela Cytrynbaum, author, blogger, lecturer at Northwestern University, and companion in grief, found my blog and found what I had to say interesting. She has asked me to answer a few questions and plans to share them with her readers at http://family.lifegoesstrong.com. Question: What happens when people pull away from a grieving person. How do …
Oct 24
Loss creates permanent, irrevocable damage
I awoke for no apparent reason shortly before midnight last night and fought those wee-hour demons for nearly three hours. Why is it, while fighting for sleep, all the small, inconsequential things in life take on such gargantuan proportions? The tiny, nit-picking things that, when the light of morning arrives, are so unimportant and forgettable. …
Sep 08
Lyrics of Life: thoughts of a daughter losing her mother
This is a guest post from a good friend who recently lost her mother. See her writings at FanStory.com under the pseudonym ‘allinmyhead.’ Lyrics of Life by Lynn Nicholas The spray from the garden hose plays across the stand of Louisiana Iris. I close my eyes and make believe that the rhythmic splash is falling …
Sep 01
Examining what it means to grieve
I go through my life now quite differently from before. I am a changed creature since the death of my daughter. On a regular, frequent basis, I find I need to examine what it means to grieve. Days, weeks go by and I am “fine.” Then one day my feelings well up, unfocused and un-namable, …
Aug 11
Writing as therapy for grief
Pamela Cytrynbaum, author, blogger, lecturer at Northwestern University, and companion in grief (she lost her beloved brother two years ago), found my blog and found what I had to say interesting. She has asked me to answer a few questions and is sharing them with her readers at lifegoesstrong.com. This was my answer to her …
Aug 03
Time to Die, Part II: Not just yet for canine friend
Some months ago I wrote about the “time to die,” when is it, and how do we know. I faced that question again last week, albeit on a lesser scale. My long-time companion dog Sass has reached a ripe old age of nearly 13 years. Her recent behaviors had led me to think it might …
