When the Rain Ends

by Mary Ellen Taylor

All the cracks in time would fill, and there’d be no empty reservoir to store worry or doubt.

The adrenaline that had fueled her this morning flooded from her body. Her shoulders slumped. It was so tempting to slip under the covers and sleep for a week.

realized healing isn’t just crying and sadness, but it also requires living life and finding joy.”

each time she didn’t speak, the life luggage she dragged along grew heavier.

Dear Ruth, You saved me. You reached into the storm, pulled me free, and gave me a safe place to live. You taught me how to draw, how to be an adult, and how to be a mother. I can

never repay what you did for me, and I will always miss you. I’m forever grateful our paths crossed. Dani

stay so busy every day because I still miss you so much. I learned somewhere along the way that the grief couldn’t catch me if I kept moving. It’s always close on my heels, but I’ve been able to remain a step ahead.

But if you look below the surface, centered in my core is loneliness.

“She’s going full steam ahead, like she does. Always smiling. Cheerful. Basically, a code red.”

“I’ve been grieving for a long time. It controlled everything in my life.