Dear Janet, To say I was blindsided the day you died last year would be an understatement, and fittingly would be exactly how you died. (Somehow the impact it had on me was more important than the one that took you out? This is what grief does to us.) It was first thing in the…
Anxiety is Not What I Thought it Was
“Anxiety” wasn’t a buzzword when I was growing up the way it is today. Maybe we just didn’t have a word for what was going on or maybe it wasn’t as common of an affliction. Everything’s so much faster-paced now and there’s so much instant gratification that it’s possible anxiety just wasn’t as wide-reaching back…
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What Writing an Obituary Can Teach You
In rifling through my mother’s files of important paperwork after her death, it became clear which details of her life really mattered to her. A true nomad, she relocated countless times, getting rid of more and more of the unessential as the years went on. After her terminal diagnosis, her few belongings were pared down…
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Looking Back on a Year of Joy
I kicked off 2019 with a declaration that it would be the Year of Joy, and in doing so (of course) I ushered in a series of tests and resistance to it. Despite profound depression, anxiety and loss, I’d still consider my Year of Joy a success. It taught me how to actively seek out…
