Can I Forgive?
We never know what the day may hold, do we? When I was 18 years old, getting ready to graduate from high school, anticipating my future life with excitement, a…
How Are You? – The Impossible Question
“How are you?” I never know how to answer that question anymore. It can seem like a very silly and careless question, when you are going through grief. Do you…
Letting Others In
I love to read. I thank my dear mother, who passed away in 2008, for instilling that adoration in me. She would go to the library and check out at…
Dating After Death: Part One
After years of suffering my spouse, my partner, my love finally died. My heart was shattered. I hardly knew where to look to start picking up the broken parts. I…
Post-Traumatic Growth
“Trauma doesn’t have to defeat you. It can be a perfect opportunity for growth. Don’t just make a comeback. Use it as a catalyst forward.” ~ Matt McWilliams A friend…
Honor Your Loved One During COVID-19
Burying a loved one is hard enough and now we cannot celebrate their life with family and friends? I remember the day that my son, Ben, passed away. We had…
Grieving Uncertainty
I’m not sure what I’m feeling. It’s very much like grief and has taken me back to the months that followed after my son, Ben Koier, passed away. It’s this…
GUILT
“We love our children above all else and we never do anything to intentionally harm them.” (Revised words of wisdom from my mom that if she had been living she would have…
The Wonderful Bundle
They found me. I was hiding from all of the Thanksgiving merriment in the basement, napping on the couch in a dimly lit room. My daughter and her husband came…
Broke My Holiday Rule
Boxes and more boxes were pulled out of the attic much earlier this year! I decided to begin decorating our home for the holidays before Thanksgiving which I usually shy…