On moving to the acceptance stage after losing loved one, and how I’ve chosen to be inspired by the memories my late mother bequeathed to me.
Tag Archives: loss
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…
October
12
Just Like Music: “That’s The Way Of the World”, August 2005
posted by ExiledMind
In early August 2005 I sit in the front pew of my childhood church, hand in hand with my husband Ali. A frosted pink funeral program lays across my lap, a stark contrast to my flowing black dress. Years prior a member of the church said that believers should wear bright colors to funerals, that […]
September
25
Just Like Music: “The Next Movement”, 1999
posted by ExiledMind
My eighteenth birthday in 1998 was definitely a milestone, but there wasn’t a major shift in life afterwards. I look back at my eighteen-year old self now and laugh, amused at the fact that I believed I was “grown”. The true burdens and responsibilities of adulthood were still far away for me. I continued to […]
September
21
Just Like Music: “Back and Forth” 1994-Part II
posted by ExiledMind
In the first week of June 1994 my church planned to hold the dedication services for our new facility. Days before the dedication commenced I walked through the sanctuary, taking in the stained-glass windows and a pulpit large enough to accommodate ten ministers comfortably. The First Lady of my church, Sis. Wilson, stood at the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lessons From The Grave
posted by ExiledMind
The sudden death of my mother in 2005 is without a doubt the most painful experience of my life thus far. More than eight years have passed since I lost her, yet I find that the episode still has an impact on how I react to situations. I have a relatively laid-back demeanor, but I […]
