This week, my blog post can be found on the wonderful website, Wisdom of the Wounded at:
https://wisdomofthewounded.com/2018/04/26/living-with-the-dying/
In the article I share suggestions for journeying with someone who is terminally ill, learned not only through my experience as a physician, but also as a wife accompanying her dying husband. I hope you will check out my post and explore the site to find all the other great information available there. There are several excellent podcasts and suggestions inspired my suggestions, including a podcast by the founder’s husband about accompanying his best friend who is dying of lung cancer, and a side bar with straightforward tips about caring for a friend with cancer. Even if you can’t use this information right now, you probably know someone who can, so please share it with them!!
Category: Compassion
When Someone is Grieving, Just Show Up and Help
In case you missed this news, I have a guest blog posted on the website Wisdom of the Wounded.
http://wisdomofthewounded.com/2018/02/27/when-someone-is-grieving-just-show-up-and-help/
I hope you’ll check it out and share with anyone who might need it. It dovetails nicely with my post on what to say when you don’t know what to say:
When Your Heart Wants To Help, But Your Head Has No Idea What To Say
Gifts to a Holiday Stranger
One Christmas Eve afternoon when our daughters were little, my husband was nowhere to be found, and I felt annoyed and inconvenienced.
I was baking peanut butter balls and Christmas sugar cookies by the dozens, there were Santa gifts still to wrap, and I was behind schedule on the preparations for the Christmas Day Feast. As if that wasn’t enough, we were supposed to go to the family Christmas Eve service at church, which meant everyone had to be dressed and ready to leave the house by 5:30 pm. There was no way I could get it all done by myself.
As my anger increased it distracted me and made me careless. I burned two batches of cookies into black lumps of coal and had to throw them away. I called my daughters by each other’s names and didn’t even notice. I spilled my coffee all over the kitchen floor and traipsed through it in my white fluffy slippers. By the time Neil got home my holiday cheer was long gone. As his carefree face bounced into the kitchen, I noticed he was flushed and smelled faintly of alcohol. That was all I needed to explode. Continue reading →