Bereavement

Today you’ve reached a significant milestone in a young adult’s life, your young adult life. Today you are 21 years old. I had a bit of trouble falling asleep last night and as I was trying to settle down, I reflected on how I was actually awake most of the night before you were born. […]

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‘Cause when you’re fifteen… Can you believe it? Today you are fifteen! I was going to borrow/reuse some of the post I wrote for your older sibling Sean on their 15th Birthday six years ago, using lyrics from the awesome song 100 Years by Five for Fighting, as I felt they fit/apply to you at […]

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One of the many cute and quirky things my parents did regularly in their golden years was something they referred to as “transportation bonding.” It typically consisted of my dad driving my mom somewhere that only she needed to go. However, they used it as an opportunity to spend quality time together during the ride […]

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For my 48th birthday last year, in March 2023, my mom contributed to my getting an Art Institute of Chicago membership, something I’ve done and really enjoyed off and on over the years. I got it as part of a deal that lasted 15 months, so it doesn’t expire until the end of this month. […]

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I finally had a dream with my mom in it! It happened right before I woke up this morning — 10 months and 13 days since she died. In the dream Mom was still alive, but we seemed to know that she was close to dying. I am not sure if she knew that. I […]

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Dear Molly, I re-read last year’s post from your birthday/the anniversary of your death and was struck by how much of it applies to how I feel now/this year. When navigating difficult and uncertain times, I often think I’ve never felt like this before, it is so hard. However, in reality every age and stage […]

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