Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea
Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea
Category: Dying
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As the October anniversary of my mother’s death passes, and the Feast of All Souls approaches, it is inevitable that I would recall the many wakes and funerals of my loved ones. There were particularly memorable moments at each one – some painful, some disturbing and some actually funny. When my grandmother died I was…
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Recently, during an extended time at home recuperating from a medical procedure, I whiled away a Sunday afternoon watching a marathon of Mario Lanza movies. I grew up with Mario Lanza, the renowned American actor, tenor and opera singer who was known as one of the great romantic performers of his time, because my mother,…
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For me, April has always been the herald of newness, recalling memories of childhood Easters when there was still a visual litany of delight present in the “Easter parade” at church; where young girls wore crisp white gloves, patent leather shoes and the traditional flowered bonnet, and young boys squirmed under restrictive suit jackets with…
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This small but powerful book of stories is the perfect read for you when you want to reward yourself with some well-deserved quiet time! Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of “Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” wrote, “If you want to find God, know love, and truly understand these are the same, read this beautiful book. But be prepared…
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It doesn’t seem possible that my dad could be gone 16 years already. But every year, as Valentine’s Day rolls around, I am reminded of the last Valentine’s Day we spent together, him in a Hospice bed, me in tears hoping that he could at least sense how much I loved him. He would die…
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If Claire were here she would say that sometimes being remembered is all that’s needed to die well. Claire was an elderly patient in a local nursing home when Hospice was called in on her case. Her husband had died a few years earlier and her only remaining relatives – her mother and aunt –…
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Today, as I make plans to attend yet another wake for a friend, I do what most of us do in times like this—remember what was. The meeting of friends and family at the funeral parlor, the familiar routine of the wake service and Mass, the images and symbols of the cemetery are certain to…
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"Dear angel guide my feet, I come each moment closer to the brink, it may be I am nearer home today, dear angel, than I think" Carved on an old headstone in an English cemetery The headstone found in an old English cemetery relayed an incomplete story of a family struck by tragedy—the dad, James,…
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"When all the funeral guests had left, I stood alone in my father's empty kitchen, the home of my childhood, and sobbed uncontrollably as I began our nightly ritual of making a cup of tea." Mary Regina It is never painless to spend time with the dying. It is harder still when that person is…
God Talk and Tea 