Yesterday morning as I dealt with the excitement of filing my taxes, client conference calls and other typical work responsibilities, I was texting back and forth with an old friend of mine. This friend was enjoying “Patriot’s Day” sitting at a bar in Boston while watching the marathon. I teased him about his day drinking; we discussed an upcoming event we both plan to attend. Nothing out of the ordinary, until all of a sudden I had to text to ask him if he was all right based on the fact that a bomb exploded right where he was enjoying his afternoon. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Grief
The Calm After — and Before — the Storm
As the storm approached, D.C. prepared for the worst. A town that is woefully unprepared (in my opinion) to handle any kind of weather emergency used Hurricane Sandy as an opportunity to close schools, shut down the federal government, and take a variety of safety precautions to keep residents physically safe. For the most part it seems that our region escaped the brunt of the physical damage. However, emotional safety isn’t as simple – especially when viewing the tragic mass destruction of the Jersey shoreline. Continue reading
Filed under Grieving and Healing
Humble Warrior
Today marks the second anniversary of the day my life changed totally, completely and irreparably. As promised when I wrote “A Letter to My Brother on Day 365,” I am not going to dwell on the negative. Rather, this anniversary marks a significant milestone for me, one where I can actually say that I fulfilled a “new year’s” resolution <insert shock and surprise here>.
As I wrote one year ago today:
So onward I go, having survived Year One (the hardest year, or so they tell me), with a vow to spontaneously travel down a few unbeaten roads moving forward — which as you know is SO unlike me, the scheduler and the planner.
Um, yep. Mission accomplished. Who wouldah thunk it? Continue reading
Filed under Grieving and Healing
Birthdays
Today is my brother’s birthday. Or, it would have been anyway. He would be 34 years old — the age I was when he died. Continue reading
Filed under Grieving and Healing
Grief: The Owner’s Manual
Nearly two years after my brother’s suicide, I fully realize that the shock and pain of his death will likely never go away. As its one year anniversary came and went, I made a very strong resolution to do my best not to focus on the negative aspects, but instead to celebrate his life and remember the good times as opposed to the pain he caused so many people by taking his own life. (as well as the fact that he could be an emotional, judgmental, patronizing, pretentious jackass. In my opinion, anyway!). While for the most part, this has worked out for me and I do consider myself “at peace”, clearly this is easier said than done.
Filed under Grieving and Healing
Amen.
Last evening, I completed a blog post that I planned to publish this morning. However, in light of the late night breaking news that Osama Bin Laden was killed, it just didn’t seem right to go with something so frivolous. Continue reading
Filed under Grieving and Healing
