Pictured is my mom’s Thanksgiving table in 2016. I often sent her flowers for Thanksgiving so she would know I was with her in spirit. Edie loved cooking for her family and friends. Even as it became more difficult to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, it was important for her to keep the tradition, one she […]
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Family and friend dinners build relationships. Sharing a meal together regularly is an important way to connect with others. Whenever I went home for a visit, my mom and I would share all of our meals. Here she is sitting in her kitchen with her apple, tomato soup, and toasted cheese sandwich. Since my mom […]
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I know at least one person who is very thankful for the existence of the cold, creamy object this child is holding and about ready to devour. I am sure there are way more than 1001 things to be thankful for, but I bought this little Hallmark book for my mom many years ago because […]
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Last week I took a short trip over to Vashon Island. The weather was far from perfect, but it felt so right to me early one morning. The sun peeking in through the clouds from the east, the twinkling lights of the jets landing and taking off at Sea-Tac, and the call of the morning […]
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As I look back on 2017, it is almost a blur. My mom died in February and it seems like I just floated through the seasons. Now we are approaching the end of the year. My featured photo is of me in my St. Louis Cardinal pajamas, on a Vashon Island summer deck day. No, […]
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My Monday blog post was about the importance of connecting with yourself as part of healthy healing from loss. One very important way to do this is to engage in activities that you enjoy. My week in Peoria ended with a reunion with four incredible women who I lived with over 40 years ago on […]
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I had made plans to return to Peoria in October to spend more time with family and was so lucky to see and sit on the two memorial benches that had been placed honoring my mom. A bench at Glen Oak Park was a Mother’s Day Gift from my son. What a very special gift […]
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In 2016, after my son James and marvelous Mindy from Michigan were engaged, they began planning a small intimate wedding with just their immediate family present. Their preferred destination? The “lakes”, our family vacation spot for decades, which is just a few hours from Mindy’s family home in Michigan. My mom was excited about the […]
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The first trip home to be with family was less than one month after mom had died. I flew on a ticket I had purchased months before her death, a visit that was planned so she and I could just hang out and prepare for my son’s wedding. Instead, I came to be with my siblings […]
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When I started my wellness blogging in the fall of 2015, I posted about connecting with yourself as one piece of living a healthy lifestyle. Wellness and health truly are multidimensional. You may eat primarily whole foods and be in strong physical shape, but if you are not in touch with your spirit you are […]
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Well Healthy Ways 