Photo by Jacky Lo on Unsplash ~Kim Libertini The cabin doors shut. My two little ones were all buckled in their seats with in-flight entertainment activities at their fingertips. The flight captain had just made his announcement for the cabin crew and passengers to prepare for take-off. I could feel the wheels rumbling as we began to accelerate … Continue reading Taking Off After Loss
At least once a day a friend, colleague, or stranger asks, “How are you?” My normal response is “fine,” or “good,” or any other terse platitude that fills conversation. Today, because I’m feeling raw and brutally honest, I would say “I’m recovering.” Recovering from my last chapter in life and recovering the next one. The … Continue reading Recovering
~Kim Libertini There are some people that always ask the big questions. On this night, as we chatted into the late hours, sipping wine and reflecting on life, she asked,”What do you miss most about him?” I paused. I thought. I miss ….. that moment when he walked in the door at the end of a … Continue reading I Miss
There’s a surreal moment that happens again and again when grieving. It occurs after sleep. Falling asleep is hard enough, and yet waking up feels harder still. That’s when reality comes back into focus. The reality of a life you don’t want. The reality that you’re in free fall. The daunting task of making it … Continue reading Waking Up To Grief
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash ~Kim Libertini When someone we know suffers loss, it is common to ask the question, "How are you doing?" No matter where I was down the grief path, my response was always the same, but the meaning behind the response changed over time. Time Period What I said Acute stage of grief … Continue reading Being Ok Through Grief
On our walk to school this morning, my boys and I crossed paths with a woman smelling of sweet mint. The scent launched me down memory lane. It zoomed past my forties with their dismantling of family and arrival at the unknown. Past the thirties collaged with growing a career and growing babies. It flew … Continue reading Chew On This Memory, Mom
Here’s an unofficial entry for the urban dictionary: BLURSE Definition: Existing as a blessing and curse simultaneously, which could just be another way to describe the human experience. Sentence 1: Grief is a blurse. It helps us appreciate life’s smallest moments because we’ve had large losses. Sentence 2: The blurse of getting older is not … Continue reading Blurse
“There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” So go the powerful lyrics from Leonard Cohen’s, “Anthem.” His words are moving. The message, elegant and hopeful. The song helps give purpose to our brokenness and meaning to our pain and scars. However, I believe the opposite is also true … Continue reading Shine On
Photo by Silvan Metzker on Unsplash ~Kim Libertini Like the approach of monsoon clouds, I felt the words move rapidly toward me. Just like a monsoon, I got caught off guard. I’ve been in monsoons before. They rain fiercely, heavily, pack a mean punch and appear to never let up. As I felt the strength of the words … Continue reading Loss Monsoon
Extraordinary messages arrive in the most ordinary places sometimes. I was waiting to check out at the grocery store the other day when an elderly man shuffled up behind me. He needed milk. There were eggnog and almond milk at the check-out counter's display, so he grabbed some with a shrug. We exchanged a few … Continue reading Go Easy on You
