Therapy can often feel like peeling back the layers of an onion, but if we keep peeling there might eventually be nothing left. What if we look at it like we are bursting forth from the layers and the rot and messiness of the onion, and blooming…bursting forth in a beautiful collection of small flowers?Continue reading “Lessons from an Onion”
Tag Archives: family
Watering cans and blueberries
“What does excitement feel like in you?” “What does excitement look like for you?” Those were two questions posed to me last week, by two different people in very different contexts. I could not answer either of them. What is excitement? When did I lose the ability to feel excited? I started thinking about occasionsContinue reading “Watering cans and blueberries”
Childhood
This beautiful photo is of my mother and her maternal grandfather, taken around 1938. Mom moved into a care home two days ago. We are sorting through her home, deciding what to keep in the family, what to give away and what to throw away. I have spent the past two nights in her emptyContinue reading “Childhood”
The Shape of Goodbye
The Isolation Journals prompt for this week is to “write a goodbye you wish you’d said, or need to say.” Over 34 years ago my little brother was lying in hospital, dying from cancer. I was living and working overseas, with 3 young children and a 4th on its way. My husband knew how muchContinue reading “The Shape of Goodbye”
Letter writing
Dad was a very organized person. He kept files in a filing cabinet in the laundry room. Each file was neatly labeled “insurance”, “appliances”, “house”, etc. He had files for interesting things from his life, and another for mom, and of course one for each of us. One of my goals on this recent tripContinue reading “Letter writing”
Back again
I am once again heading back to mom’s home. This time I am flying in order to avoid snowy mountain roads and potential blizzards. The cloud formations are mesmerizing, with the sun peaking through between various layers of cloud types. The …. Straight reflect the sun, and in the distance I can see snow noContinue reading “Back again”
Buried Boots
I signed up for a creative writing course. My choice of this course had little to do with the actual topic, but more to do with available time in my schedule and the fact that it was 100% online. We have had 3 sessions, with two remaining. The other students are so much more experiencedContinue reading “Buried Boots”
Mourning rituals
Today marks one year since my father passed away. It has been a tough year in many ways, but also a good growing experience. I started thinking about the mourning rituals I observed and participated in while living in Thailand. When my father-in-law passed away we held several days of evening services and meals forContinue reading “Mourning rituals”
Lurking
It was a simple question, but I was unable to answer. It took all my strength to compose myself and still there was no way I could bring myself to voice his name. I have worked to erase him from my memory for years. Thanksgiving weekend, 21 years ago we were able to escape andContinue reading “Lurking”
Breathing after Fiona
“All good!” was the message from my daughter early this morning. With tears starting to form after hearing this welcome news, I took a deep breath. It felt like it been hours since I had taken a deep breath. She and her fiancé have survived post-hurricane Fiona only a few weeks after moving to theContinue reading “Breathing after Fiona”
Reflections 