My Confessional
Friday, February 18, 2022
One Thousand and Ninety Five Days
Thursday, February 18, 2021
We Push Forward
It’s been a long 2 years without you my dear twin. Time has moved on, the world has moved on, people have moved on and slowly I moved on. But my heart remains partly in 2019 where you will forever be. Where the last time I felt whole. So much has changed, new people have come into my life, and others have left it. But still things continue to move forward.
Turn Again to Life
By: Mary Lee Hall
If I should die and leave you awhile
Be not like others sore undone, who keep
Long vigils by the silent dust and weep.
For my sake, turn again to life, and smile,
Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.
Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine,
And I, perchance, may therein comfort you.
This poem means so much to me, because I mourn your loss so physically, as a twin does, but I also know you wouldn’t want me to sit here and soak in the pain that it causes me. The fact that I want to do so much to fight the disease that took your life. It is comforting to me., every time I get to talk about you, every time I get to tell your story. In hopes that it may save someone else’s life. A piece of me feels whole again. Like I have you with me, pushing me forward.
Tomorrow is our birthday, funny how many times I wished I wasn’t a twin, how many birthday’s I wanted alone. Now, on my third birthday without you I would give anything to celebrate them with you. I always loved celebrating my birthday, I loved when people sang to me (even at the restaurants), and now I find that most of the time I just cannot wait for it to be over.
I think the hardest part in grief is the words that are left unsaid. The I love you’s that you wonder if they heard, the stories that you wanted to tell them, the exciting news you wanted to share with them. Even the sadness that you wanted to share with them. I have come to accept your death, but I have spent a lot of time in regret. Regret that I spent so much of your living life angry at your addiction, angry enough that it kept me away from you, angry that I didn’t speak to you, and angry that I didn’t get to share all my memories with you.
In our darkest of times we must remember, there was light where you went once, there is light where you are now, and there will be light where you are going, again.
I will end this with a quote I heard on Call the Midwife. It struck me, because it is so true. It was oddly comforting. “We flicker on a screen; we fold and unfold upon the mind’s eye. Brittle as wings, eternal as a heartbeat and even when the heart falls silent, we do not cease to be, because in the end, we all become memories.”
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
See You Later 2020
2020 is ending and along with everyone I am ready to put this year behind me, but not for the same reasons as everyone else, I believe 2019 taught me how to live through devastation and 2020 humbled me. If 2019, also known as the year of hell, gave me anything, it gave me the ability to see 2020 differently than most people did. I do not mean this insensitively, because my heart breaks for the job loss, the financial troubles of those I see, but mainly my heart breaks most for those who lost loved ones this past year. While the first of those things are temporary, a life is not, and that is what 2019 gave me. The ability to realize that I can give up my job, my financial stability, if it meant the person I love most in life would be standing here today and because of that loss, I think that’s why I was able to live through 2020 in a different mindset.
So, let’s start at the beginning, I started 2020 ready to put the worst year of my life behind me. I was sitting in a great place emotionally. Grief therapy helped me tremendously and I was ready to conquer the world. I joined a gym to get my health back in order, was waking up at 5am to work out every morning, work was great, school was great, and I was slowly inching my way to the one year anniversary of Aaron’s passing. We were hearing the whispers of the COVID-19 virus at this point in other parts of the world, just hoping that it doesn’t reach our shores. February came, I survived Aaron’s anniversary, with some hiccups, but I survived it, and Shane threw me a birthday party to help me get through it as well. It would be less than a month later that work would send me home to work because the virus did reach our shores and I would not return for the remainder of the year. I thought I would hate it, I thought I was going to lose my mind working from home. But I found, that even though I am an extrovert, the energy sucking life, that is office drama was easy to let go of. What did suck, is my newly purchased gym membership was worthless as they were closed to help slow the spread. But nevertheless, my awesome sister-n-law got me into Beachbody, and I started to workout at home instead.
2020 gave me more than I thought it did, looking back, it helped me to find friendship and family, it helped me to realize what is truly important in life. I have stronger relationships with friends because of 2020, and found out that I don’t need to dim my sparkle for anyone, and if you think I am too bright for your taste you can put a pair of sunglasses on or leave the damn room. It helped me to see that memories are more important than material, and to truly be happy in this world all I need is an experience rather than a tangible item. If there is one thing, I miss in 2020 is the ability to hug someone, something I will never take for granted again. I did do a bit of traveling in 2020, spent the 4th of July in Jersey with my in laws, went to the OBX with my sister-n-law, brother-n-law, their family and friends, and also spent a week in the Smoky Mountains with my friends.
The biggest thing to come out of 2020, for me, is the fact that I graduated college. So, with 2020 only days away from being behind us, I cannot wait to push forward into the new year. I’m excited to start a new year fresh, to continue to learn about myself, my strengths and to continue to grow.
So Happy New Year everyone, I hope 2021 brings you joy, brings you happiness, and brings you all your dreams.
A New Year Poem
By: Joanna Fuchs
Happy, Happy New Year!
We wish you all the best,
Great work to reach your fondest goals,
And when you’re done, sweet rest.
We hope for your fulfillment,
Contentment, peace and more,
A brighter, better new year than
You’ve ever had before.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
I made it a year...barely.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
An Open Letter (The Recovery Method)
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Half a Year
By Linda Ellis
at the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on his tombstone
from the beginning to the end.
and spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
that he spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved him
know what that little line is worth.
the cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.