Archives for December 2018

by Christina Rasmussen, author of Where Did You Go?

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”
—Tuesdays with Morrie

In the days, weeks and months that followed my 35-year-old husband’s death, I swung between mind-numbing grief and an insatiable search for him, for his essence.  One moment I was painfully sad, the next moment I was hunting for his ghost, spirit body, soul—anything that was him.

Even though I’d been brought up Greek Orthodox, my religious background didn’t help me.  In fact, immediately trying to apply my faith to my dire circumstances actually deepened my doubts about what faith really meant to me, my two young daughters, and life in general, that someone we loved dearly was now in a place called heaven, or the afterlife.

The journey that started the day my husband died has been the most important journey of my life.  I spent those first few years after his passing barely surviving.  Living day in and day out inside a [Read more…]

It’s that time of the year again.  ‘Tis the season of family vacations, holiday parties, and awkward celebratory work functions.  And whenever large groups of us are forced to share the same space for too long, especially after hours when alcohol and exhaustion are factored in, there’s a fairly high potential for unnecessary drama.

I was reminded of this today when a new course student emailed me saying:

“I have difficult people in my family and social circles that I have to deal with at various holiday-related gatherings over the next several weeks, and just thinking about it drives me crazy.  What can I do when these difficult people start getting on my nerves—which is inevitable?  How do I shield myself from their negative behavior so I can keep my cool?  And what if I can’t completely get away from them?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.”

Truly, it’s a [Read more…]