As symbolized in the traditional Irish Claddagh ring, the hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the Crown represents loyalty. Those humans fortunate to share their life with a dog know that all dogs must be Irish because they excel at giving unconditional love,… Read More »All Dogs Must Be Irish
About two years after Mom passed away in her sleep, I turned to my Aunt Dolores in my desperation to meet my lingering sorrow and fears head-on. She lived in Florida and I was in Albuquerque. My aunt sent the letter that saved my life.… Read More »The Letter That Saved My Life
The mission of How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body and each of my stories is to show what happened to me, share what I learned, and encourage others to keep moving forward from life’s most unexpected challenges. As I wrote about in… Read More »How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body
Unspeakable Secrets and Forgiveness collided. Everything came undone when I thought our family finally had it all. The visual of seeing my mom’s lifeless body in bed completely overtook my ability to function. I desperately wanted to remember that she passed away peacefully in her… Read More »Unspeakable Secrets And Forgiveness
This story from our fixer-upper days, Sledgehammers and Silent Night, illuminates our challenges. Some were visible, and one required a 911 call. Sledgehammers We had lived in our house for about ten days. Pete was worn out and home sick with the flu. He made… Read More »Sledgehammers And Silent Night
Another story in my Tough Cookie life is about how my first love stalked me. The stalker of this true story is Spyboots. Some synonyms for stalker are narcissist, ego-maniac, sneak, lurker, prowler, harasser, persecutor, or cold-hearted snake. A stalker is a person who pursues… Read More »My First Love Stalked Me
Goodbye Childhood Trauma Hello Adult Drama is a post about how your childhood experiences influence the way you make decisions as an adult. The power of traumatic childhoods is an invisible inner force that follows you into adulthood. What we grew up in, we think… Read More »Goodbye Childhood Trauma Hello Adult Drama
These are my memories about my mom’s mental illness secret that became unmanageable after my father’s sudden passing. I find a protective numbness takes over when extreme trauma invades your life. My mind will only accept deep grief in tiny pieces; in hindsight, my mother’s… Read More »Mental Illness Mom’s Secret
This post is all about sass and solutions to solve the Drama Dudes & Drama Dames dilemma. There is one addiction that few people acknowledge-drama. None of us escape. They stalk us in our families, friendships, and work environments. If you are a kind person… Read More »Drama Dudes & Drama Dames
Imagine your perfectly healthy child (or grandchild) is four years old. On Friday, you pick them up from childcare, and they complain about a stiff neck. That fateful day began our journey with sorrow management. They wake up several times during the night. Saturday you… Read More »Sorrow Management