Bereaved and Blessed

Today You Are Fifteen

September 17, 2024

‘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 […]

Read the full article →

My London Semester Journal II: Sunday, March 31, 1996

August 27, 2024

Sunday, 3-31-96 4:00 PM On the Way Home from Our Road Trip (somewhere in Scotland or England) 9:00 AM E-Town Back in the “Black Sheep”… That’s what we’ve named our rental car this weekend! We are on our way home after a fabulous weekend which truly exceeded my (& I believe all of our) expectations! Ruth […]

Read the full article →

Transportation Bonding

June 30, 2024

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 […]

Read the full article →

Mom, O’Keefe & NYC

June 13, 2024

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. […]

Read the full article →

Dreaming of Mom

May 26, 2024

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 […]

Read the full article →

Honoring Molly (16 Years)

April 17, 2024

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 […]