Well, it happened. My dad passed away a couple of weeks ago. It happened fairly quickly. I am sad. I feel that I am still navigating the numb phase. The phase where it has not totally sunk in just yet. I live in Colorado and my dad lived in Arizona. I am back home now...
Last time I talked about preparing for the loss of a parent. You can read that email here. This time I want to talk about preparing yourself for family dynamics. I don’t know about you but this can be a difficult topic for me. Now throw in an ill parent...
How do you prepare yourself for the loss of someone close to you, such as a parent or parent figure? It is not something I particularly like to think about, but lately, I haven’t been able to avoid it. Recently my dad had to have major surgery. Fortunately, I was...
Recently, I’ve been having conversations around the topic of forgiveness. It’s been interesting to hear other people’s views on the topic. It started when a woman recently shared with me that she was having a difficult time forgiving someone in her life. She was so...
Have you ever felt like everyone, everything is against you? For example, the barista at the coffee shop did not acknowledge you as you picked up your morning coffee; you tried to have a deep conversation with a friend, but she barely heard a word you said and then...
Self-compassion, love, and care, which I like to refer to by the acronym S-CLC, is such an important topic. I mean who doesn’t want to have compassion for themselves? Who doesn’t want to love and care for themselves? I know I do, but sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes I...
Have you ever walked into a room and instantaneously felt off, uncomfortable, or uneasy? You were feeling good one minute and then all of a sudden your mood changed and you felt uneasy, sad, agitated, or even angry? This used to happen to me a lot. I was on an...
As a quick reminder, last time I talked about “How can you be okay when someone you love is not okay?” I shared the first of 4 key lessons I’ve learned related to this topic, which was - we can only help someone as much as they are willing to help themselves. You can...
Is it okay for you to be okay when someone you care about is not okay? Of course, it is, but have you ever consciously thought about this question? For a long time I didn’t, but now that I have, I am grateful for the awareness. You may recall my post “Taking off the...
This is going to be a post about Dave, my husband. I wrote it, but he reviewed, made some changes and approved it. Dave and I have been together for almost 19 years now. I can’t believe it. I would be lying if I said it’s been all sunshine and roses. We have...
I was talking with a girlfriend the other day and she told me how she was waiting in line at the grocery store and started eavesdropping on a conversation two women were having in front of her. One of the women said, “Now that I am in my 40’s I really don’t care what...
I was thinking about the quote, “Misery loves company,” because there are some people in my life who feels like they are looking for company for their misery. I am working on being compassionate, but it can get difficult, at times. I believe they are good people and...
I went on a hike with a friend a couple of weeks ago. The hike is called Devils Causeway. When my girlfriend explained the hike, she said it was on her bucket list and would love it if I joined her. I immediately said, yes! I love hiking and helping my friend cross...
The other day, I was at the pet food store picking up some (more) treats for my dogs. For some reason, we run out quickly. Anyway, I am particular about the treats I get them. You see, they are my babies and I am going to make sure they are spoiled and live the best,...