After my mom died, I thought she would appear in numerous ways and signs. A butterfly hanging about, a warm presence in the room, a vivid dream. I imagined that her essence would feel obvious and overwhelming, an external experience impossible to ignore. That hasn’t been the case. While I’ve seen her in a couple … Continue reading No Signs From The Afterlife
Go to the trees, says my inner voice. Go to where nature’s calm thrums louder than human anxiety. Sidle up to bark, birds, flowers and water. Align with natural rhythms as a reminder that not everything has changed. This is what I keep hearing. And so that’s where my kids and I have been since … Continue reading In Stillness Together, Yet Apart
This Valentines Day we want you to rock out to your beautiful self. Enjoy these songs that move and inspire. You can also listen to the Good Grief, This Playlist Rocks on Spotify. Where is the Love? The Black Eyed PeasMan in the Mirror: Michael JacksonRise Up: Andra DayComing in From the Cold: Bob MarleyShake … Continue reading Good Grief, This Playlist Rocks!
Today, I’m giving thanks for tiny joys. All too often, it’s the unmistakable joys - the ones that leave us grinning from ear-to-ear - that receive all the fanfare. But not, today. Today, these microscopic pleasures get their moment in the sun and praises sang. Because it’s tiny joys that get us through the day. … Continue reading Tiny Joys
photo credit Photo by Mareko Tamaleaa on Unsplash ~Kim Libertini “What could I have possibly done in this life to deserve this?” That question incessantly echoed inside my head. I was incapable of comprehending how THIS could happen to me and yet I was surrounded by people happily living their lives. It didn’t make sense. For a period … Continue reading I Deserve
The holiday season is in full swing. As I sit on my couch my time hop flashes an image from four years ago with my son smiling in front of the Christmas tree. The hashtag reads,”fake it till you make it.” My mind reverts back to that first Christmas after Adam died. Everything felt … Continue reading Holiday Happiness
Photo by Briana Tozour on Unsplash ~Kim Libertini There were tears in her eyes as she looked at me and said, “I don’t know if I am doing the right thing. The truth is I don’t know what to do or what to say. So I just go there. I do laundry or take the kids. Sometimes, I … Continue reading The Good Friend
Photo by Jordan Donaldson | @jordi.d on Unsplash~Kim LibertiniSome people give themselves titles and others earn them. I owe part of my title to the nurture of a woman who somehow managed to carry me through a war-ravaged country, in order to drop me off on the doorstep of an orphanage, with the hope that I would escape … Continue reading The Survivor
Boundaries are as much about what we keep out as let in. When it comes to grief, we frequently talk about building boundaries to prevent people from being prescriptive about how we grieve, telling us to move on, or threatening our fragile and momentary peace. These limits are important and good mostly as preventative measures … Continue reading Boundaries
I thought my Mom would hang around me after she died. I thought she would appear thick and tangible like a warm fog. I thought she would exist invisible yet present herself through messages and signs. But so many aspects of my mother’s passing are different than imagined, including how she shows up. Mostly she … Continue reading Mom Lives in Me
