Toni Lepeska
When a Parent Dies
You probably have a special memory you go back to this time of year, the season of the Grief Super Bowl, the annual apex of grieving. It’s likely a bittersweet replay. I go back in my mind to a little girl at a dining room table, feet on a trailer vent grate for warmth and …
I found the homemade Mother’s Day card inside a box of her things, and I read what I’d written as a teenager. “If I didn’t have you what could I do?” At her house among her things, I thought, This is the question I’ve lived with since she died.
Maybe that’s the question you are asking today. “How can I go on?”
Despite the death of a parent or other loved one, there’s a mountain in front of us called life. How do we do it without him? How do we do it without her? Here are 4 first-steps to take, but first I want to tell you, I’ve been there.
Did you ever imagine monsters were under your bed or in your closet? What did you do as you huddled under the covers? You called out to your parents, right? Did they speak softly to your fears? And did you hope they’d stay in the room all night? You were sure to be safe with …
As I tried to figure out how to put new life together after my parents’ death, I was tasked with figuring out what to do with their voluminous collection of cookbooks and recipes. It was Christmastime when I got to them. I’d held onto their home eight years, and I was still sorting not only …
