Breathe, stretch, and release all of the pain from yesterday— today is a new day. The sting of grief will start to fade as the morning turns to afternoon and eventually to night. A fresh start, a normal day, not one clouded by a holiday that brings you heartbreak, while bringing the rest of the world joy and love.  Own this day and this new…

Celebrating any holiday without my mother is challenging but Mother’s Day, well that’s an entire different kind of hurt, pain and longing. Each year since losing my mother I’ve needed different things on this special day. Some years I retreat. Some years I reclaim joy and celebration. Each year I find meaningful ways to honor her love. Here are 7 ways that I’ve found to…

When you love a woman who’s lost a mother, you’ll be loving someone who has experienced a grief that changed the composition of her soul and the map of her future. She will be different from other women you have known or loved. They’ll be things you’ll need to know about her– things invisible to the eye but etched on each piece of her that…

I pull out a small piece of paper that I had forgotten was tucked in my back pocket. It has only three words: the worst part. Immediately I’m transported back to the small coffee shop where I heard the words and felt compelled to jot them down. I was busy writing when I overheard two strangers talking about the ‘worst part’ of a certain scenario.…

Through tears she asks, “Does the pain ever go away?” She misses her mother and I also know the unique and powerful void. I wish I could tell her it does, but that isn’t the truth. I wish I could ease her pain and comfort her heart, but I know those are impossible tasks.  I hug her tightly without saying a word. In time I’ll…