I was aware today, that a mourning cloud has gently floated away. I felt the presence of Fern more than her absence. If it’s true that there is a gap between the time a soul ascends and when it is ready to guide others, then perhaps that at least partially accounts for this new feeling. [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Elder Insights' Category
The Drama Stops Here
What might be more important than dramatizing Alzheimer’s and dementia is to learn to accept it. We want to treat it, beat it, wring our hands and gnash our teeth. Of course, if that is what fulfills and inspires you, then that is clearly your path. I’m an advocate of always honoring who you are. [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Importance of Being Connected
It’s a little hard to describe, how important encouraging people to connect with elders is to me. And how important my own connections are. This past weekend my sisters and I hosted a celebration of gratitude for my recently-passed mother, her resident neighbors at the nursing home and the caregivers who loved her. What struck [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Jacqueline Bigar Knows Her Stars
Honest to goodness, this was my horoscope the night I was called to my mother’s bedside, two days before she passed: Aquarius: A must appearance is inevitable. You need to visit with a parent or older friend. Flppin’ A! Share on Facebook
Read the rest of this entry »Romeo and Juliet
A friend saw my mother in this Shakespeare passage from Romeo and Juliet. It’s such a beautiful passage, I just had to share! The pronouns have been changed…. “When She Shall Die, Take Her and Cut Her Out in Little Stars, and She Will Make the Face of Heaven so Fine That All the World [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Adjusting to Life Minus Fern
As I plan my trip to Northern NY later this week for a Celebration of Gratitude for the good people at United Helpers Maplewood Campus and Hospice of NNY who loved and cared for my mother, I’m reminded of how habitual some of my behavior had become. My intention for the past five years had [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Memory Lane is Overrated
Ah, the freedom I see in the faces of my friends at the nursing home when they have no other choice but to be in the present moment. In fact, it’s only when this capacity diminishes, and more of what we’d call lucidity comes forth, do I notice a shift in the peace and happiness [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Mother of all Transitions
Years ago I read a book called Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss with the desire to better understand my mother, whose own mother passed when she was just under 4 yrs. old. It did indeed shed some light of understanding for me. Additionally, it helped me gain insight into some of the experiences I’d [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Transitions
My mother passed on October 12th. There are so many things I want to say, so many thoughts going through my head, yet the words that keep recurring are “Unconditional Acceptance”. She was the epitome of love and acceptance. More later. Lots more later. She touched so many lives and truly walked her talk of [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Birthday Circle
Homeschooling our daughters offered as much liberation and possibility to my and my husband’s lives as it did our daughters. By stepping away from convention and researching the things that were most meaningful to each of us, we allowed experimentation to be key when it came to personal preferences and purpose. Essential to nurturing those [...]
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