Tag: Grief
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Southern Cemetery Etiquette
A poignant reflection on memory, change, and cemetery etiquette in a small Southern town in this essay on grief. There’s a certain etiquette in Southern cemeteries. I turn down the long, grassy road just before sunset, when the summer haze has blended lavenders and dusty blues across the sky in the sort of way I’ve…
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When You’re Older…and Everyone Disapproves of Your New Love
Self-portrait; one very happy afternoon, preparing for guests and the evening’s Life-Death-and-the-Universe conversations. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder. Granddaddy’s been gone for over 15 years, but if he were alive tonight at 105, I’d want to ask his relationship advice. Not about a romantic relationship but about how to deal with disapproval of a…
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The Dark Night of the Soul
Sparklers on the Fairy Tree, a fav of neighborhood children. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder. The Dark Night of the Soul is a rather ominous term for something that happens in some lives, but not all. I believe that some people actually make it through their entire existence on the planet without encountering anything as…
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“Get Closure—Now, Damn It!”
The dreaded 3 of Swords Tarot card, usually signifying grief, betrayal, loss, and/or sorrow. Photo credit by Raelene G; attribution license room with me, most of them backed away, not knowing what to make of my very public breakdown. We were all there for a 2-hour training session on the new Justification and Approval Guide…
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Healing Old Wounds
Photo credit by publicinsomniac; creative commons license Healing old wounds of childhood trauma and self-esteem doesn’t come easily, but when it does come, it’s unexpected. Thinking back on my childhood, I might just as easily have been a child suicide. I remember thinking about it when I was nine years old, right after being humiliated…