THE RISE AGAIN BLOG

© Ashwin82 | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images Bad things happen to good people. I think we’ve all figured that one out by now, right?! So, bad things are going to happen to you. Or, like me, LOTS of bad things might happen to you, over and over, with rare pause between crescendos of pain, and you may wake up one day and think, “Wow, really, is this life? Isn’t there something more than this to life?” I’ve been asking myself that question quite frequently as of late

Dear Sweet Nephew, Hi, how are you? What’s it like living in the light you were on Earth? I thought today I would write to you, because today it’s been 10 years since you left this Earth. I know you are still nearby, and all around, but, losing the chance to hold you in my arms and run my fingers through your beautiful blond hair again, that was the hardest thing I have ever had to let go of. Marking 10 years today makes me look back on the last decade of my life without you.

#13 is looming on the horizon… Not going into details to respect my family’s privacy in such a hard time, but just thought, seeing as this is my place to share on life and loss, and my journey through it…I’d come here in the rawness of grief and tell you, think of me. It’s been a hard couple days, but yes, the piano practice of grief has made me a beautiful composer. I forced myself to get out in nature day before yesterday, and had the most blissful amazing day of “seeing th

“If you look deeply at a flower, at its freshness and its beauty, you will see that there is also compost in it, made of garbage. The gardener had the skill to transform this garbage into compost, and with this compost, he made a flower grow.” ~ from “You Are Here” by Thich Nhat Hanh Did Thay (I like to call him that, because that’s what his followers and friends call him, and when he speaks to my soul, I feel him like a friend) say this just for me? Did he see my life and sp

A beautiful story for you… An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it. “How does it taste?” the master asked. “Bitter,” spit the apprentice. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, “Now

This is a true story that was shared with me recently. I have omitted last names to respect the family’s privacy, and re-written  to the best of my memory in the stunning of hearing such a moving story. Cathy’s husband Gary was one of our twelve. The twelve deaths in three years, I mean. He was like a second Dad to us in many ways. We always felt like part of their family. Gary was a tall man with piercing blue eyes, a salt and pepper beard, a sort of Sean Connery, get’s bett

"The World Revs Its Heat Engine" Photo credit: from NASA on Flickr, no known copyrights exist Hello, Nice to meet you. Thank you for greeting me so warmly. I’ve recently begun my own WordPress Blogiverse journey, and find myself to be quite content here in the WordPress hemisphere, because, well, you guys are awfully nice. I love meeting bloggers from all sides of the globe, and I’m thankful for my “homeroom” WordPress peeps! I feel like I’m now a part of something – part of

I can hardly begin to compose myself to write this blog tonight. Today was – simply – one of the TOP 5 BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE. Yup, weddings, babies, then today. That’s how my list would go. #499 on the invisible, unwritten Bucket List of my heart – completed. Eleven beautiful, stunning, ROCKSTAR Mamas walked into my life today, and changed me forever. They were in Sedona to be part of Camp Soaring Eagle’s Winter Oncology Retreat, designed specifically for families of children

That little voice within me is always right but, it’s taken me a long time to learn that. I tend to drown her out with the noise of my mind. She knew, when I first found out I was pregnant, on my daughter’s birthday, May of 2009, that it was the beginning of an end. She tried to tell me something was wrong. Every time I uttered those two simple words, “I’m pregnant,” she’d given me that kick in the shin within – it said, “Not yet, wait.” But I didn’t listen. My Aunt Debbie, 5

I woke up yesterday morning scared to death of what I had done. I hardly slept the whole night before. It was so scary to tell you how I really feel, what I’ve really been through. I was afraid you’d think of me as a failure, because at times I haven’t been able to figure out how to pick myself up again. I was afraid you’d think, “What she’s going through doesn’t begin to compare to what I’ve been through.” Or, maybe you’d think I’m just a whiny little self-absorbed brat. But

I’m afraid to share what I have to say. I’m afraid of what you’ll think of me. I’m afraid you don’t want to hear it. Just incase you don’t know my story already…in the last three years TWELVE people in my life have died. I have sat at the deathbeds of five. I watched Cancer (and yes, in my book it gets freaking capitalized because it’s a monster) eat four of them alive, slowly and painfully. 90% of them were under the age of 50. One was five. If I averaged it out, I’ve been t