Felicia Denise's Blog, page 2
September 18, 2024
September 17, 2024
Acceptance of Time
Emerging from the darkness of grief…
September 17th.
A day I’ve loved, hated, dreaded, and once again, love.
It’s not marked or notated on any calendar. There are no alarms or reminders because my heart cannot forget.
Den and I were married September 17, 1983, and we spent the next thirty-five years navigating life and raising three children. There were lots of hits, quite a few misses, and tons of laughter.
There was no laughter on September 17, 2019, my first anniversary without him. There was a meltdown of epic proportions with tears, screaming, and swearing.
It was bad.
Except for Max, Den’s beloved dog, I was alone, but even he seemed to be side-eying me while thinking up a plan of escape.
I had no more plastic smiles to give. No more politeness to share. No more false pretenses.
I needed help and sought therapy.
That alone was a nightmare, but worth it.
When September 17th rolled around again, there were tears, but no meltdown. There were tears in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but there were also smiles and laughter.
After a few “trial periods,” I ended therapy a year ago. Despite a dark day here and there, life is pretty good and I spend a lot of time smiling and laughing. Some folks would say too much time, but womp, womp!
Still, I knew that the next September 16th–the day before our anniversary, when the anxiety kicks in and freezes me in place for 36-48 hours, would decide my pass or fail.
It didn’t happen. YAAY!
Am I cured? NOPE!
But time and I are friends again.
©2024 Felicia Denise, All Rights Reserved
September 16, 2024
Making Peace with Time
Emerging from the darkness of grief…
Time.
It either passes too slowly or in the blink of an eye.
But it does go on.
Sometimes we notice because it changes us.
We’re a few pounds lighter… or heavier.
We have new hairstyles… or less hair.
We have new beliefs… or have abandoned all beliefs.
The passage of time can make us restless and long for something new and exciting,
Or find us complacent and content with the routine and ordinary.
Time can find us safe and secure in the stability of family and long-time friends,
Or empty and grieving for those no longer with us.
Whether we realize it or not, whether we want it or not, time changes us.
I’m not the same person I was five years ago and I’m grateful for that.
But who am I?
Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay
September 11, 2024
April 13, 2022
March 16, 2022
December 23, 2021
Celebrate
We measure our lives in time.
Seconds, minutes, hours.
Days, weeks, months.
Years.
Milestones are celebrated.
A child walks, talks, starts school.
Graduates, marries, becomes a parent.
Life is a continuous celebration.
Until we experience loss.
Of a child or parent.
Or spouse.
Someone isn’t here to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.
Or Christmas.
Times of celebration become bittersweet or sad.
Or unbearable.
Someone said grief is love with no place to go.
But love can always be shared with family and friends,
And most of all, with yourself.
Grief should never stop the celebration,
But instead, enhance it.
The pain of loss never ends,
But the celebration of love and memories
Makes it bearable.
And makes you smile.
Merry Christmas.
~~~~~~December 22, 2021
December 20, 2021
October 1, 2021
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
Great informative post with resources!
I’ve updated this from last year’s post:
Surprisingly, 15-20% of the population has a language-based learning disability and over 65% of those are deficits in reading. Often, these go undiagnosed, written off as “s/he doesn’t like to read”. If this sounds familiar to you, maybe before you became a writer you struggled with adopting the love of reading, check out the International Dyslexia Association’sDyslexia Awareness Month in October.
What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a condition that affects people of all ages, male and female equally, and causes them to mix up letters and words they read making what for most is a joy-filled act challenging and frustrating.
“Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, that result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia often experience difficulties with both oral and written language skills. … It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia…
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