Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Child loss, Life, Loss, Photography, Photos, Poetry, Writing

Escape from Hitchcock

There are days when you long for the waves to rush over your feet, and you discover the kind of days made for digging in garden dirt as sweat pours down your face, and you believe you recognize the signs of happiness again after you've known darkness of the darkest kind.

Bereaved Parents, Child loss, flowers, garden photos, inspiration, Life, Photography, Photos

In the Bright Lights

I cut back the rose bush, and dug up a plant I learned was invasive in the Butterfly Garden. I had no issue performing on a stage in middle and high school. Unaware of the neurological diagnosis suggested when I was four and five-years-old, I lacked a shy filter, just as I did a social… Continue reading In the Bright Lights

Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Child loss, Family, flowers, garden, Grief, inspiration, Joy, Life, Loss, Mental Health, Photography, Photos

Pictures Tell a Thousand Stories

It drove my second grade teacher Mrs. Rewis crazy if a student said, "a hundred" or "a thousand" because these weren't precise numbers. A student could say, "one hundred," and this is accurate. But some stories don't possess an exact number ...

flowers, garden, inspiration, Joy, Life, nature, Photography, Photos, Writing

On Any Given Day: Corrie’s Retreat

The year, 2023, provided the most positive growth since Corrie's death because I grew in confidence after witnessing what I'd accomplished in the gardens. We went from one garden to three in 2023, along with island gardens. The result is now I have a vision for gardens everywhere on the property, and John has helped me plan them, along with officially naming the farm, "Corrie's Retreat."

Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Child loss, children, Family, garden, Grief, Joy, Life, parenthood, Photography, Photos

A Message of Thanks from Corrie’s Family

When I consider the message of Thanksgiving, a lot of words fill my mind and heart for what I wish others to know and feel.

inspiration, Life, Loss, Photography, Photos

What is my Favorite Place to Purchase Plants for Corrie’s Garden?

On an autumn day, if you're going through Shelby, North Carolina; a greenhouse sits on a hill off the road.

Advocacy, Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Grief, inspiration, Life, Loss, parenthood

Reemergence: Those Sweet Honeybees don’t Know Me

Remember, those sweet honeybees don't know me. A sparkling sassiness has overtaken the sarcasm, which was always a part of my personality. It's an attitude of: "Honey, if you don't like it, there's the door. The beautiful thing about the door is that you can fit through it and I can shut it."

Bereaved Parents, Child loss, Family, Joy, Life, reality

“Here Comes the Sun”

If you'd ask me to imagine life 20 years ago, the plans I'd made would fail to match real events. I would never want to picture: - losing a child, - a tornado destroying parts of our home, - a miscarriage, - or nearly losing a spouse to colon cancer. I'd never imagined those events… Continue reading “Here Comes the Sun”

Bereaved Parents, bereavement, Child loss, Death, Family, garden, Grief, kindness, Life, nature, Photos

From Out of the Darkness, You will Come

Often, from our darkest spaces, and our most vulnerable moments comes a light we can choose to cast on a small section of the world.

Bereaved Parents, Child loss, Family, flowers, Grief, inspiration, Life, Photos, Uncategorized

Mother’s Day for Those Without Hallmark Cards

We are not forever cast to the darkness, nor would our children here, in heaven, wished for, wondered about, or mothers we miss or worry for want us to exist there.