When Dad died I was devastated and still am….we had a strange relationship in many ways. We were so similar and yet found it difficult later in life to connect. I still don’t understand why….
Fortunately at the end of his life – he died of dementia – we became close and we both managed to say those three little words to each other. Families are strange aren’t they…..now he isn’t he, I miss him soooo very much.
Anyway it will be his birthday on August 12th and I wanted to do something that honours his memory. He loved people, he loved …read more

Happiness for widows sometimes feel so far apart. Then you see the stories of how people have gone on to have a fulfilling life and you can see that a death of a loved one is hard – no doubt – but it really doesn’t have to remove any chance of happiness from our lives.
I read this quote from David Myers who is the Professor of Psychology at Hope College in a new book which is about bouncing back from failure
“Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than wanting what we have”
When you think of how that …read more

Death has made me think about life – how the death of a loved one affects you

They die..you live
Cuddles disappear but love stays in your heart
Their presence has gone but the memories live on forever
They may not be in the house but they will remain in your soul
Your rock may not be here but your steel will see you through
Death may bring loss however love brought huge gains
In death you value life 

Is it just me but does grief make you see the contradictions – after all death parts two people however it brings you closer to the real meaning …read more

When you are left alone after the death of a loved one, you feel alone…so alone. You feel weakened in some way as though you just cannot live without them. Of course this is wrong but it is feels like the truth.
The truth is that we have the power inside of us to not only live but to thrive and also find a new, different happiness – one that we value highly because we understand the depth of emotional depression.
So how do we release that power inside?  This is my humble attempt at finding the power within

Understand that the power …read more