Growing Bolder Community

(Readers’ note: The following is not a sunshine and flowers musing.) There are so many ways of dying. There is a multitude of illnesses that can cause it. There are various ways of dying in accidents – cars, trains or planes as they say. One may be the victim of a violent crime which results in murder. It may be just a matter of old age and our bodies wearing out. In all those...

Not everyone grieves in the same way. After all, we are different people with different physical appearances, different perspectives, different experiences, different thoughts, different emotions, different backgrounds, and different attitudes. So why when it comes to grief do we believe that there is one correct way to handle the loss of a loved one? There are in fact a number of constructive...

Both my sisters died in 2001. A couple of weeks after my sister Patty died, I was standing on the back deck talking to my mother on the phone. I don't remember what we were talking about, but I do remember what happened during the call. My sister sent her first postcard from the other side. As I was talking, a dove flew up from beneath the feeder and perched on the deck railing. It landed...

Every once in a while God gives us the opportunity to say good-bye to a loved one before they pass away. You may have experienced moments such as this in the past or may be going through it right now. Either way, it is still difficult to endure. Nevertheless, these are rare precious moments to be treasured as gifts from God. Not everyone has the opportunity to say good-bye to a trusted...

September is National Women's Friendship Month. Call, write, talk to, text or whisper in the ear of your friend and tell her how much she means to you. "We are friends and I do like to pass the day with you in serious and inconsequential chatter. I wouldn't mind washing up beside you, dusting beside you, reading the back of the paper while you read the front. We are friends and I...

In the three months since my husband passed away from multiple myeloma I have discovered that grief is sneaky! Many days I have felt better, only to feel anger or dissolve into tears when confronted by something that reminded me of him or the disease itself. I took my rage out on the illness and for a short time turned my back on the many friends and medical staff who had supported us so much...

So off I went to Austria and Italy, and had a fabulous time. While in Austria we attended lectures at the University of Innsbruck and I found I loved being back in the classroom. That combined with all the workshops and programs I had been taking back home with other women, solidified the desire that had been lurking in the back of my mind, under my grief, the idea of going back to school....