You know that moment when you’re raw and hurting, and someone says, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? You’ve been there. I’ve been there. Hearing those words that suck the air out of a possibly tender exchange. The thing about grief is most people don’t want to go there. That’s why they’ll say you’re … Continue reading Vulnerability is Strength
~Kim Libertini Loss triggers the rollout of a thick fog of guilt. That fog sits heavily impairing visibility. Depending on the type of loss and the nature of the relationship, guilt varies. I know this because I grappled with guilt with each successive loss. When I lost my father, I was forced to examine … Continue reading Grappling Guilt and Finding Forgiveness
No one wants to get that phone call. My mom had gone to the doctor. They said to bring support. That’s never a good sign. My sister drove her to the appointment and back. Then, they called me with the results: Cancer. It was breast cancer, but it wasn't only in her breasts, it was … Continue reading Cancer Changed Everything
~Kim Libertini That day, I was at work. The details of that moment I won’t ever forget. I had just finished teaching a class. The main office had paged me. When I arrived, my then husband was standing there. In the midst of the daily school scurry he delivered the news that my father had … Continue reading Your Loss, Your Way
There was a time when the hardest question was “how are you?” It was the Trojan horse of greetings. People welcomed it into daily conversation where it laid bare my defenseless heart. The worst part is there’s no great answer when you’re not doing so great. Is it better to lie, or cry and make … Continue reading
~Kim Libertini Our life is measured in time from the moment time note’s our birth arrival. I’ve been unfair to time with my expectations of how it should behave constantly oscillating between extremes. Speed up through the work week. Slow down through the weekend. Stop during a moment so I can breathe it in for … Continue reading Keeping Time
~Kim Libertini I have experienced it enough to know when it’s about to happen. Yet despite the recognizable symptoms, I still can’t stop the inevitable. First there is the burning in my nose, followed by the welling of tears in my eyes and then the slow escape and steady roll of those tears from my … Continue reading Pangs of Grief
