Sink Or Swim
Getting Through the Hard Stuff
After sharing personal stories with a couple girlfriends at dinner a few nights ago, one of them said, “Wow, when you think about it, it is pretty incredible that any of us are even able to be here sitting at this table right now.” Coming from a woman who tragically lost her husband unexpectedly, and recently published a beautiful book, A2Z Healing Toolbox: A Practical Guide for Navigating Grief and Trauma with Intention, those words have stayed with me all week. And what a hell of a week it has been.
Just the day before I sat with these beautiful ladies, my son had just shared with a therapist that he was considering killing himself. Why was I out to dinner with friends the day after this you might wonder? I guess the best thing I can answer with is that life does not stop for you just because bad things are happening. These two widowed women with whom I sat, left to raise beautiful children on their own, are a testament to that, and a reminder to me of how resilient we truly are. Spending an evening contemplating the road we had each traveled was exactly what I needed.
It is so easy to get overwhelmed when you are dealt a situation for which you feel unprepared. I never expected to be the parent of a special needs child. These women never expected to lose the loves of their lives.
