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
Most nights of the week, I tuck my kids into bed, fall asleep for a few minutes next to at least one of them, and then awake to a quiet home. A medley of feelings follows the silence…sweetness, relief and the blues. Sweetness because these boys are my heart. I want to breathe them in … Continue reading
“Are you crying?” asked Ollie, my four-year-old. “Yes, my sweet boy,” I whispered attempting to control my voice. We had been hiking uphill for about 30 minutes and were approaching our destination: one large ponderosa pine growing just off the trail. A deep feeling of missing surfaced the closer we got. For two decades now, … Continue reading Tree and Me
Oh boy, Mother’s Day is approaching. This holiday can be a doozy. While it allows some people to bask in the warm glow of love, family and lineage, for many others, especially those who have lost a mother, child or spouse, the day feels hard and painful. That's why it’s time to rewrite Mother’s Day. … Continue reading Mother’s Day Permission Slip
My mom was a blonde, standing about 5 foot 5 inches tall with steel blue eyes. Being adopted she and I share no physical traits whatsoever. She’s been gone over 7 years now. The longer she’s gone, the more I see how much, despite the lack of genetics, she influenced the woman and mother I … Continue reading Love Leaves A Mark
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