As mentioned yesterday, not everyone grieves in the same way. With death we can be confronted with a number of emotions, including shock, numbness, sadness or perhaps even guilt. You may not experience all of these feelings and you may not display your sorrow the same way another does but know that when and if you do, it is not wrong for you to do so. So let yourself grieve. As you do it will relieve you.…

Dear Mommy,

Today is your Birthday and I wish you were here so that we could share another year together... BUT... your celebrating else where so I will silently thank GOD for allowing you the time you had on this earth to share all the other Birthdays we celebrated together...

Make sure to play all those motown oldie goldies we love.... Butterfly kisses to you from me and the babies... 

Happy Birthday... 

The American Association of Suicidology Conference in Portland, Ore., two weeks ago was a busy time for me, to put it mildly. But it was that good kind of busy. It was nonstop talking to people, catching up with old friends, and making new ones (I wouldn’t have it any other way), as well as plenty of presidential duties. The first morning I led the plenary session with my presidential address. I officially became president that afternoon at the business meeting.

Up until the…

Hi Mommy,

Nothing much going on other than I am tired today but I know you know that already. I don't know why I am not sleeping this week. I don't know why my soul is so restless this week. I feel like I should be doing something but I don't know what. It's sort of weird and I don't quite understand it but I feel something.

I love you and I miss you dearly. You knew and understood me so well. When I look at Nah'zaire I only pray I can be half the Mom to him…

Hi Mommy,

Well as you know I have gotten that business taking care of that I needed to do and I am happy with the out come... You also know I heard the news of what happen and although it saddens me and even makes me a little angry I am not going to take it on... I know you have to be watching.... Your B'day is on Sat and I am wondering how we would have celebrated... I look at that picture of you and I having such a good time and I miss those times so much... I am always…

At times we all may find ourselves struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one.  Some of us may pretend to be doing well when deep inside we know otherwise.  Some may not outwardly display our sorrow but it does not mean that we are suppressing our feelings.  This is a fine time to mention that since each individual is different when it comes to grieving it is or would be unfair of others to draw conclusions about those who do not outwardly…

From first grade forward, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Several times between first grade and high school I debated becoming a psychologist or an athletic trainer but a part of me never wavered from a writing career. In high school, I began writing my first novel, a fictional…

Has your family experienced a loss? Loss impacts the entire family system. Children learn about grief through observing, listening, and talking. Optimal Hospice Care offers free grief counseling to the community geared specifically towards children ages 8 to 18 years. Please join us every Thursday for Optimal Hospice Kid's Grief Connection 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at 4600 Stockdale Hwy, Rms 1 & 2

** We also offer an adult group just down the hall so you are never far…

It’s Easter afternoon as I write this. I admit that I can’t remember the last time I went to church on Easter morning. Heck, I can’t even remember what I did last Easter. But this year something has been different. I trekked to church this morning and enjoyed the entire service, all ninety minutes of it. This year, more than ever though, I missed many of the Easter rituals that have traditionally been part of my life.

Holy Saturday in particular was an important day for my…

Let’s simplify this. What you think about the most will eventually be the dominant force in your thinking capability. This will be the result of which direction you are going to take, or whether you will accept the situation and move forward with your life.  As we know, the children can make you lose your cool sometimes. Your spouse shakes you nerves one in a while. You job frustrates you a day or two, and so on and so on. But the question is how do you handle…

Happy Easter my Beautiful Boy

Hi hun out at the cabin for Easter the lake is still frozen but still comforting just being out here. I was remembering a few Easters ago when the kids were at Disneyland and Jessie was away it was just you and I....what I wouldn't give for  that moment in time again..............I love you and miss you so very much...xoxo

Happy Easter Mommy,

I will think of you today as everyday and once again wish you were here so that life could go on as nomal with the tradition of going to your house for a feast and then just hang out and catch up...

People say it gets easier with time but the question is... When exactly does that happen??? I still have an ache in my heart and I miss you as much today as I did when you had to leave me...

I hope you are resting in peace…

Spring has always been my favorite time of year. As a child, it was most likely because I have a Spring birthday. However, as I've gotten older, I so greatly appreciate that seasonal change from a long, gray winter, into the fresh, clean, warmth of Spring.



This time of transition is symbolic, not only for the earth, but also for our lives. The earth needs a period of dormancy, of rest. During the long winter months, it is quiet, buried beneath blankets of snow. The earth uses…

As Lent approached, I considered something I could do for myself that would make me a better person. Growing up in a Polish Catholic family, every year in CCD we were instructed to give up something and I remember it almost always being candy.

My sister died when I was a college student. In the year following Denise’s death, my senior year, I was fortunate to have the support of the Ball State University Catholic community (it was the pastor of the church who pulled me from…

Dear Mommy,

Today is a holiday..... I am still lost without you... I am still overwhelmed with the fact that I can not call you and talk to you about.... whatever....  I am going home to my babies and I know today you would have had a great time with them... They are getting so big and although I am glad you got to meet them I know you would have really enjoyed knowing them.... Mommy I really dont know how you did it all those years... I feel so consumed by lonliness.... I…