Happy heavenly birthday to our daughter, Corrie! This is her third birthday in heaven, and it marks two-and-a-half-years since Corrie earned her wings. Besides already being a difficult time, it also marks half of the life she lived on Earth. I haven't written in a while because as I get closer to times of remembrance,… Continue reading Happy 8th Birthday, Corrie! (with poem)
Category: Photos
In Every Gold, Bright Orange, and Russet Leaf: a Reflection of Autumn in Corrie’s Poems
I felt Corrie in every gold, bright orange, and russet leaf. Six minus one is five, and at sixteen, we seldom realize destinies are nothing more than beautiful orange and yellow leaves cleaving to branches in late October before they fall in a river bank. Sweet sixteen, like fairy tales with happy endings, are inventions of commercials and ads to buy disco balls and dresses.
Two Years and One Month after Corrie
But that's why there are seasons to grief, and also friends, who are patient and stay nearby, will see a different you rise from the ashes.
We Must Awake: a Poem
John Lennon’s Imagine comes on the radio, and I turn it off because there is nothing more I want to imagine than a world where we’re together with our little girl. You say to me, “We don’t need the music. Your voice is the most beautiful music to me.”
To my Students: It’s Not “Goodbye,” but “See You Later”
As the end of the school year arrived, I had a lot more to say than could fit into your average social media post.
The Chain That was Broken
Sometimes we can't replace the chain that was broken.
Never Enough Lilies
Corrie loved all flowers, and John and I each remember her different favorites. She not only picked them, but put on a show with the flowers. She'd ask me to put the flowers in her hair, or she'd do it herself. She'd put them on the grass, as the green was the background of a portrait, for me to take a picture.
Into this Good Earth, Part 2: Ways We Remember Corrie and Each Other
I knocked the soil loose. There is something I have to find, but I haven't located it, yet.
The Need for this Good Earth, Part I
Each day, I did something new. Mostly, I prepared Corrie's garden and parts of the yard for new plants where some were that had not survived the winter. I was not ready last year to fully take care of the garden, but here below the mountain, in the sway of the wind and the sunlight, I heard my daughter calling me. "Mommy, come water the garden."
Corrie’s Visit Made All Well with my Soul
... but for the first time in a long time, my daughter, Corrie, visited me in a dream. Corrie's visit settled my soul.