Writing Our Grief Out

            All sorrows can be borne if they’re put into a story, Isak Dinesen said. Writing about our grief unties its knots, and unhooks death’s claws from our flesh. 

 

            Start a writing routine. Every day, sit down at the same time, and write about your grief. Record all of your thoughts, feelings, memories, and questions. Write about everything that seems connected until you can’t think of anything else to say. If something else shows up later, make a note to explore it. Writing helps, as does walking in nature and having a community of support.

 

Shoo Fly Pie

 The holidays are a time of sharing stories of the past—“Remember when …”. They’re also about eating food that we get only at this time of year. But this year, many of us won’t be able to gather as families, and we will have to create new traditions. We will make some of the holiday recipes—the cookies and cakes, the soups, and savory dishes, and the smells of baking and cooking will warm our hearts and inspire wishful thinking.

 

This is my story of shoo fly pie. May it spur you to remember one of your own. 

 

In Darkness My Heart Breathes

I hurry through the warmth of the day to reach the night’s cool solace. In the exhalation of the tired sun over the earth’s dusty horizon, as gray shadows deepen into the long evening hours, as bright stars and planets appear in the clarity of the cobalt night air, I let go of all the chores that did not get done.