Five days ago we celebrated the life of my dear friend Tiffni. For hours I remained in the same spot I occupied during the memorial service, getting reacquainted with folks I had not seen in years. The room was filled with the playful cries and laughs of my late friends’ two little boys. They are […]
Tag Archives: death
December
07
Goodbye
posted by ExiledMind
It is late August 1994. I’m in the Commons (cafeteria) at Franklin High School, waiting to get my ASB card. As a socially awkward incoming freshman I’m uncomfortable, my nervousness exacerbated by the fact that my ace wasn’t next to me. Too shy to speak with the packs of girls roaming about, I avoided eye contact with most. You were in front of me in line, head crowned with a halo of smoky black curls, richly hued cinnamon skin glowing…
July
30
Ten Years On
posted by ExiledMind
“I never dreamed you’d leave in summer.” The idea that we would lose you eighteen months after burying our matriarch, Grandma, was unfathomable to me. I just assumed there was some universal law about such things. When I got the call that Wednesday when you lost consciousness I didn’t think of death. I didn’t think […]
A Letter for Grandma
posted by ExiledMind
Today is not supposed to be one of the significant anniversaries. It is not the first, the fifth or the tenth year. It is an odd year, the eleventh since you left my life. But the weight of your absence was especially profound for me today, as the calendar date coincided with the day you […]
Dancing In My Head
posted by ExiledMind
When I arrived at work yesterday I felt great. The excitement and joy of my weekend carried over into the workweek. I clocked in with a smile on my face. When I’m in such a good mood I know that it’s going to be an Old School jams kind of day. So I headed to […]
The Promise of The Present
posted by ExiledMind
Within months of graduating from high school in 1976 my mother made two major decisions with her life: she joined the Navy and married her high school sweetheart-the man who would become my father. When she completed boot camp my Grandma traveled to Orlando for her graduation. Years later my Grandma’s face would shine with […]
The Crossroads
posted by ExiledMind
“Farther along we’ll know more about it, Farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine, We’ll understand it all by and by…” I was ten years old when I attended my first funeral. The deceased was not a relative of mine; they were related to someone in my congregation. It […]
Manufacturing Myths
posted by ExiledMind
When my mother passed away in July 2005, she left behind four daughters, of which I’m the oldest. My siblings were 18, 15 and 8 at the time . Though it has been hard and painful, we have survived. Our loss has strengthened our bond even more, and next to my daughter I love and […]
