stroke

Grief Makes One Hour Ten FREE Word Art {Love My DIY Home}

How Long Should Grief Last?

It’s been 243 days. That’s 5829 hours… exactly 349,768 minutes. How long should grief last? Should I be moving on by now? Is the past in the past? For those of you who will be experiencing grief in the future, or those of you in the throes of grief let me encourage you. Don’t put it off. Don’t avoid it. Don’t wish it away.   It’s part of life. Does it hurt? Yes. Does it go away? Yes. Eventually. Sort of. If you allow yourself, you will eventually only focus on the good moments and let the painful ones fade. Just don’t dwell. If you dwell, you will get depressed and it will mess up your day. Think about it for a bit and then put it aside. Grief may not be a friend, but it doesn’t have to be an enemy either. Don’t feel guilty if you choose to … Read more

Life After Loss – Is Closure Possible?

Is Closure Possible? Is Closure Necessary? When you’re charged with carrying out someone’s wishes, sometimes you need to throw tradition out the window. My last DIY for my mom was to throw a Pepper Party and lay her to rest in a way contrary to tradition. (See links to this series below if you’re a newbie here – it would probably be a good idea to start from the very beginning, it’s a very nice place to start…) My mom had always told me that when it was her time to go, to… dig a hole out back and bury her in a pine box. It was the family joke. I found a way, or rather, my son found a way to do just that. But you’ll have to read all the way to the end to find out how. Here is what we did and will do: December 25: … Read more

5 Ways to Survive a Loss – With No Regrets

Now What? How do we survive a loss with no regrets? The days sitting at the hospital and hospice house are past. The preparations to lay my mother to rest are done. We’ve had our friend and family get-togethers. My last child has left to go back home. We’re back to work and life goes on. When your world stops, everyone else’s keeps spinning. It’s hard to jump back on. December 23, 2014, a little over two weeks ago, My mom joined my Dad after a nearly 30 year separation. When my Dad passed I was only 26 with a husband and two children. I have so many more to care for now through this loss at age 55, with 15 children, 5 sons-in-law and 13 grandchildren. We became empty nesters just a couple of years ago…well, sort of. It’s been 33 years since my DH and I lived alone … Read more

No Christmas Home Tour Here

  This Christmas season is different for our family this year. We are a family in crisis. There will be no chestnuts roasting on our open fire this year. Normally I would be writing a post about our Christmas Home Tour complete with staged pictures of my home in the middle of Christmas celebration. (Last year’s Christmas Home Tour) It’s what we do as DIY bloggers. We decorate and then share it. I had it all planned. I did manage to get my tree up and most of our gifts wrapped.   Then crisis walked through our front door and wouldn’t leave. (The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom) There will be no last minute holly jolly Christmas shopping running around town in the midst of all the hustle bustle that I love so much. I did manage to hang a little Christmas tree ornament my DH brought … Read more

The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom

While I sit here in the hospital with my mom, I thought I’d share a really great project with you that my daughter, April, did recently – a dresser turned tv stand. But then I decided to just have a chat with you. To encourage you. To let you know what’s up and that it’s all good. I’ll do the Dresser Turned TV Stand another time. At the moment of this writing, I’m doing the ultimate DIY sitting alone in a hospital room I’m tending to my mom who had a major stroke Saturday morning. Let me take a moment here and encourage you. I’ve been through losing a father (30 years ago when I was 26) and now am dealing with a part of life no one wants to – watching a mother decline and trying to figure out how to make her as comfortable as possible, manage all … Read more

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