I use Awareness Days all the time for engagement, linking up and creating great stories and connections. Naturally, some hit me very personally too. Today is one of those days, and it’s been tough #worldpizzaday. Pizza Lover Issac loved pizza, which was a miracle after a long illness and fear of food for many years. We gave the gorgeous brooches in … Read More
Brew Monday or Ups and Downs
Blue Monday is all a load of bollocks. Ups and downs are completely normal in life, let alone in grief. Blue Monday was actually a very fancy marketing ploy by the travel industry… Brew Monday is rather lovely, it’s run by The Samaritans to focus on how we can help each other by having a cuppa (something we heavily promote … Read More
A is for Anger
Anger is a very common experience during grief, and it’s a tricky one as it can manifest in different ways. It can also lead to feelings of guilt, another doozer for all us well behaved, adaptive children to handle. If you find you experience very negative reactions to having ‘bad’ emotions like anger; I’d recommend learning about Transactional Analysis. It’s … Read More
Plans for 2023
A-Z in 2023 (too cheesy?). Being a little bit organised is one way I manage grief. It helps me to feel somewhat in control of the world, or at least our tiny bit of it. Feeling in control has been a real issue for me. When the world stopped back in 2019, the harsh reality that our actions had little … Read More
The Trouble with Annual…
Here are a few reasons I have trouble with annual events, and most especially Christmas. Naturally, not everyone will feel or respond in the same ways. Here’s my penny’s worth. I hope it’s helpful. Christmas Conundrum All ‘special occasions’ can have the same problematic elements. I feel – the more we understand it, the more we can moderate our language … Read More
The Gift of Not Giving
Eh? The gift of not giving sounds a bit odd, right? This comes up every year, so I’ll tackle it again for people who are still baffled. Or maybe you’re new here… We don’t buy our kids any Christmas presents, and that’s OK. A few things to clarify quickly before you unfollow:🤶 We love being festive, this is not a … Read More
The Problem with Ashes
I always considered myself a ‘green’ person. I actually do hug trees when the opportunity arises… However, I had never really thought very hard about the impact of death on the environment, I mean why would anyone think about that? The problem with ashes is well known, at least if you ask the rigth people… Learning Curve My knowledge in … Read More
Powerful Words
I’ve been talking to my daughter this week about powerful words and the importance of language. It’s a topic I like to wax lyrical about, and often covered while teaching. Not just the words we say out loud, although they are undoubtably powerful, but also the words we keep inside. One word I have been using more over the last … Read More
Helping Children after the Death of the Queen.
So, I thought it might be helpful to consider some likely questions or conversations and take a moment to think about responses. Helping children to understand and manage their emotions, can also help us as adults to think deeply too. As always, keep discussions age appropriate and use language they already know. There are other useful resources on the site, … Read More
Getting Dressed
It sounds so simple, but getting dressed can be the hardest task in the world some mornings. It’s impossible on Stormy Days, but on a Cloudy Day, this is how I get it done. First… I became aware I was not taking care of myself properly, when I noticed the same behaviour in my children. It was an unpleasant realisation, … Read More