Happy New Year and New Decade!!

   

Hi there!

    I cannot believe it's been 4 years since I last wrote on my blog!  I have no idea why I stopped blogging or even if anyone ever read my blog in the first place (!), but I've decided to start it back up again.  As a grief educator who has experienced alot of personal grief in these last few years, I just felt that now, I needed/wanted to vent from both vantage points- the professional and the personal.

   I'll start from where I left off in November, 2015.  Both my mother and my brother had recently died.  I was commenting that very few people my age were fortunate enough to have both parents, examples being George Bush, Prince Charles and myself (that's rather good company, don't ya think?!)  Well, fast forward to 2020.  Prince Charles and I are the exact same age, one day apart (I'm older! ha!). He still has both parents..... I have none.  George Bush......none.

   On top of these losses, my own children's dad died recently.  They will never get to remark about having both parents when they are my age.  Neither will my 20 something year old niece, whose dad, my beloved brother, died too soon.  I feel so badly for them.  I know that they are the "normal" ones and I am the outlier, but still, my heart aches for them.

   My siblings and I were so unbelievably lucky to be able to throw a 100th birthday party for our dad, where he was able to fully participate and enjoy.  He was gone 2 months later.  My kids threw a 75th birthday party for their dad.  He, too, was gone 2 months later.  Unreal.

   I think that alot of people stop and reflect, when an old year ends and a new one begins, on what was (past) and what will be (future hopes and dreams).  My piece of advice here is, don't forget to live in the present.  It all too quickly becomes the past.  Just yesterday, literally, it was 2019.