Donna’s Three Most Recent “Wisps of Hope”

• Grief is something you learn to carry … especially through the holidays December 17, 2015

  

  When I am asked how the grief caused by losing someone you love changes over time, I suggest that unfortunately the grief journey is not linear and there are no reliable mileposts to help guide you along the way. Grief is not something you get over or even through, as I’ve heard people say. In my experience, grief is something you learn to carry. It will always be with you in some form, and you will never be the same as you were before. However, there are times when grief may be a little softer than other times and, at some point, you are likely to experience joy again, though you might not recognize it at first.

  The holidays can be the worst times. That pretty much goes without saying but, importantly, they are also the times when happiness may be lurking just around the corner. Any happiness will most likely be fleeting and less all-encompassing than it used to be, but I do believe that it’s there and that opportunities to let in the warmth of the holiday spirit will increase over time.

  
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• Hope … on the Way to Faith? July 20, 2015

  

  I’m often asked if I believe in the afterlife. Perhaps because I’ve lost a child, which many believe is the worst possible thing that can happen to a person, my opinion on the subject carries a little extra weight. Or perhaps the asker is simply seeking a pebble of “proof” to add to their own ponderings on what happens after death. Or maybe it’s just plain curiosity.

  I usually say that I hope there is an afterlife and, from what I can tell, my response seems to be a bit disappointing. But there is significant meaning in that answer because, for me, hope is everything. And it’s taken me a long time to get from the depths of despair caused by losing Emma to a place where I can hope again.

  Hope has reignited my spiritual journey. For many years, I equated spirituality with religion. And, as a busy wife, mother, and corporate professional, nurturing that spirituality became a distant memory. Sure I attended Sunday School, was confirmed, got married in a church, baptized my children, and then took them to Sunday School for awhile. Then life took over. I was busy, busy, busy, and I hadn’t the time to think about whether God was present in my life or what happened to you when you died.

  Then Emma died.

  
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• The Tides of Summer, Emma & Me July 7, 2015

  

  Summer has been my least favorite season ever since I graduated from college. Growing up, of course, it was magical – my grandparents had a summer house at Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island along the Jersey Shore, and I spent many a lazy summer day searching for whatever treasures the tides had left on the beach and experiencing that pleasurable mix of fear and exhilaration while body surfing at high tide. Nanna had her rules: don’t go to the beach until your chores are done, don’t go for more than two hours, don’t go when there’s a west wind because of flies, etc. But all things considered, it was a little like what I imagined heaven to be.

  Fast-forward to graduating from college and taking on my first real job. What a shock it was to go from having all summer to kick around doing close to nothing, to having just two weeks of vacation for cramming everything I wanted to enjoy into much too short a time. When that first June came along, my desire to “go down the shore” was so strong that I almost quit my job!

  
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“Tomorrow Comes” Most Recent Reader Review

• Tomorrow Comes April 20, 2015

  Laura – Family Valley Fun – My grandmother visits me as a cedar waxwing. Maybe it’s because she was a big bird lover and the cedar waxwing was always at her feeders. These birds are not that common around here, but every once in a while, one will stop by the holly bush at my front window. And, it seems to be when I need a reminder.

  One day, I was frantically working, and was stressed about time, and deadlines. WHOOMP I heard a bird crash against my window. I looked up. It was a cedar waxwing. A reminder to slow down and take things easy.

  A few days ago, I was in a rush driving somewhere. In the middle of the road in my neighbourhood was a flock of birds. They were splashing in a puddle, and weren’t making any signs to fly away as I came barrelling down the street. When I got closer, I realized it was a flock of cedar waxwings. Again, a reminder to slow down, take things easy – just when I needed it.

  I call these encounters a message from my grandmother.

  Probably many of us have these feelings and notions that someone who was close to us who has died is trying to communicate with us. This might be in a dream, through a vision, a bird, a butterfly – anything.

  This is why many people will be able to relate to Tomorrow Comes by Donna Mebane.

  
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See all Reader Reviews of Tomorrow Comes here.

Read Famous “A Book Abot Chaps” Here (Online) for FREE!!!

For the first time ever, Emma’s first-grade book about shapes that was compiled and published soon after her death is now available for free public reading right here at Starshine Galaxy. Click on A Book Abot Chaps to take advantage of this truly unique opportunity. We’re pretty sure you won’t regret it.

 

 

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