Grief Digest Articles

(Photo is Rudy's Mama)I cannot believe that it is almost one year to the day when I last physically held you and heard your beautiful voice, my dearest Mama. I can still imagine every curve of your face, your sweet soothing voice, that soft hair of yours. Your sweet scent is still a reminder of a classy woman of no equal.These past few days and weeks, I have noticed a change in my body - lethargic and lacking the vibrancy of life. I have come to acknowledge that it is the grief, the trauma, mani …

Death, grief, and bereavement are difficult for people of all faiths. The traditional grief and bereavement practices have less utility for Roman Catholics than for people of other faith traditions. Perhaps American Indians are most similar in their grief and bereavement practices. For Catholics, the focus is upon restoring the community and the communion of saints. Catholicism is not an ego-centered religion. The focus is less upon the individual than upon the community or group. Attendan …

Recently, we experienced a pop-up memory of Chad. We (my husband and I) were driving home and stopped at the signal lights. A shiny beige pickup truck came whizzing through the intersection of the busy street and easily caught our attention. In the bed of the pickup truck was a 3’ x 5’ American flag whirling in the breeze. Simultaneously, Gary and I had an instant pop-up memory to a long ago time, when our son Chad, did the very same thing! I haven’t seen such a display since Chad’s death, …

The ice storm was wicked. Had I wondered through my wardrobe? Was I in Narnia? It was two weeks before Christmas. I glanced in awe out the window. The once mellow branches of the Maple trees, fixed and frozen in ice, smacked the shingles and struck the glass windows with an astounding clatter. Winds wailed and higher branches splintered and crash landed on branches below propelling them downward. No wonder my cats, Mercy and Grace crouched under the down comforter on the bed one minute and …

Today is Sunday. It is one-degree below zero. I sit on the arm of an empty loveseat with my feet tucked under me, snug in three pair of socks. I am cozy, warm and safe in casual sweats, although there will be no sweating today. When I saw you fall, it was on a Monday, hot and humid, the weather you liked best. Today, I am warm and safe but my dear, bird friends are famished and near frozen. I feel as though it is my fault. I gaze at them outside the window as they flutter and fall from the …