Navigating the Depths of Parental Grief

Navigating the Depths of Parental Grief

Healing, Relationships
The loss of a child brings a depth of sorrow. I see the immense struggle parents face in moving forward after child loss. The journey through grief is deeply personal and challenging, especially when it involves the unimaginable loss of a son or daughter. Overcoming grief and sorrow is a huge task for parents who have lost a child at any age. The emotional trauma that accompanies such a loss can often prolong the grieving process, creating a heavy burden. It's like carrying an anchor that keeps pulling you back into the depths of sadness, making it difficult to see a way out. The Lingering Effects of Grief The emotional trauma that lingers after such a loss can manifest in various ways, impacting relationships, mental health, and overall well-being. Despite…
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Find Inner Peace with Fall Clean Up

Find Inner Peace with Fall Clean Up

Healing, Lifestyle, Nature
When you were a child, did you ever get to dive into piles of leaves in Autumn? First of all, the leaves are raked up into a big heaping pile. Then you take a few steps back and run for it. When I was a kid it was a blast, diving through the air, landing in a huge pile of soft, dry leaves. Of course, those leaves got stuck in your hair and clothes, but it was totally worth it! As adults, we don't find it such a blast because we rake leaves to clean up the yard. Sometimes wind slows our efforts, but when we push through and finish, it feels good! Our outdoor mess is cleaned up and our home space looks tidy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUVid4JjZb0 Whether outdoors raking leaves…
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Are Some People Pests In Your Life?

Are Some People Pests In Your Life?

Nature
Today’s adventure involved wandering outside to check on the tomato plants we've been growing this summer. We have been enjoying having fresh tomatoes and some cucumbers. I was out having a look and noticed some branches getting a bit black on the edges. I thought “Something's going on” and started trimming off a little bit of a few branches on one plant. I was working away trimming, no big deal, but then started to notice a few little tomatoes had been chopped in half and eaten. I got a little more suspicious. As I was going along, I reached for another branch and touched underneath. It felt weird, it felt different and felt soft and puffy. So, I bent down and looked and there was this big giant, creepy hornworm.…
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Life Memories and Mulberries

Life Memories and Mulberries

Food, Lifestyle, Nature, Relationships
Have you ever had the chance to go berry picking?I'm not talking about the little packages of berries you pick up at the store.I did a lot of berry picking when I was young, and it was a favourite activity. It usually also involved a chance to go out for a picnic with my mom and grandfather, Cappy Guy. My mom would prepare the meal and pack it up for the three of us. We would take off in Cappy’s little car, which he never did seem to get, to handle and how to shift it properly! So I remember bouncing around while riding in the back seat, but I loved every second of the trip. After dinner, they would sit and have coffee together and Cappy would light up…
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Is Moving Stressful? 6 Tips for a Calmer Move

Is Moving Stressful? 6 Tips for a Calmer Move

Lifestyle, Relationships
How many times have you moved from one place to another? Moving creates a challenge to sort and organize our stuff, then fit it into various boxes and containers. On moving day all our belongings get packed into a moving truck, van or car and driven to our new home. After that, we get to unpack all the items and choose where to place them at our new place. Yes, it can be very stressful… Moving shows some strengths and weaknesses Are you a procrastinator who waits too long to start packing? Does moving include last-minute panic, tossing items in garbage bags that can accidentally get thrown out? The process of sorting and letting go of stuff we don’t need takes time but is truly rewarding. It feels great to…
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Is What We Believe in Life Really True?

Is What We Believe in Life Really True?

Healing, Relationships
We are taught many early truths by family, unfortunately their wisdom isn’t always best for our success. A childhood moment that strongly affected me was my father’s words after viewing my excellent report card. “98? Why didn’t you get 100?” These few words had great power, along with negative comments and events that chipped away at my self-confidence. Dad was repeating his experience as youngest in the family. As parents our job is not to break the spirit of our children, nor is it to fill their heads with delusions and expectations. When we begin adult life feeling worthless and lacking confidence, how do we believe in our self and trust others? Starting off on the wrong foot is brutal, I’ve been there. Determined to break from my father’s rule,…
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5 Things I’ve learned about Allergies and Asthma

5 Things I’ve learned about Allergies and Asthma

Healing, Lifestyle
  Over the years I have witnessed many improvements in clients suffering with allergies and asthma. Their progress can be life-changing and it's great to see! Here are some common elements that consistently need attention to lessen the severity of allergies and asthma symptoms: We look at what’s triggering the stuffiness, sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. It gets interesting as we uncover what bothers a person and what they have weaknesses for. For example do they have a weakness to Ragweed, being outdoors or fields of flowers (yes, that was an actual weakness for a client who no longer suffers from annual Ragweed symptoms)? What sensations are they experiencing? Discomfort, itching, irritation (this one can be physical or non-physical - so who or what irritates us?!) and the list goes…
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Loving Animals = Learning to Care for Others

Loving Animals = Learning to Care for Others

Lifestyle, Relationships
Many of you know I grew up with animals, I loved them and they were my friends. We always had a cat and dog but around 8 years of age I was thrilled the moment I rode a friend's pony. I asked my father if we could get a pony and he told me if we did, I would be responsible for the care and feeding of the pony. Of course I agreed, having no clue of what was involved and how much horse poop I would shovel. We started with one pony, then 2, then 2 more and their foals, then a horse for Dad, and a horse for Mom. My sister brought home "cute" baby chicks that she cared for for a few weeks, and then I got…
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Happy & Sad Emotions Missing Mom & Chocolate Cake

Happy & Sad Emotions Missing Mom & Chocolate Cake

Healing, Relationships
It all started with a chocolate cake... I decided to make a cake for my husband's birthday. He loves chocolate so I began looking at recipes. I have old ones but this time felt pushed to find a match with my mother's recipe from the past. You see my mother was an awesome cook and she loved to bake! In summer she'd do extra baking and sell it at my Dad's hardware store to local and summer folk in our small town. The tricky part with Mom's recipes was that most were in her head. So when you asked for a recipe she'd list off the ingredients as "about a cup of this and a couple of spoonfuls of that...". I was often left wondering if she was talking teaspoons…
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Christmas Triggers – Stirred Up by past Emotional Wounds

Christmas Triggers – Stirred Up by past Emotional Wounds

Relationships
They stir up our past emotional wounds, reminding us of times that were better or worse. Along with glad feelings, our sad and mad emotions can suddenly bubble up to the surface, usually not at the best of times. Christmas brings up a variety of feelings for many people. Some experience upsetting emotions which are consistently triggered year after year around the holiday season. As we remember favourite Christmas moments and past events shared, we feel sadness and grief over loved ones who have passed, knowing they won't be with us again this year.  We beat ourselves up with memories of past ugly events and negative circumstances. Especially childhood traumas we couldn't control. Anger and hurt feelings appear around relationships that damaged us.Some people even feel shame about being alone at Christmas.  We have…
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Snowflakes Falling In The Night

Snowflakes Falling In The Night

Nature, Relationships
In recent weeks there's been an ice storm, tons of snow and extreme cold. This week has seemed a breeze as warmer winter temperatures make life easier. Plus when the sun shines it's really quite beautiful outside. This evening while out for a walk I was happy to witness lovely huge snowflakes slowly drifting down from the dark sky above. My husband laughed as I opened my mouth, stuck out my tongue and tried to catch the big fluffy snowflakes. It's fun to feel the cool tingle as the snowflakes instantly melt in your mouth!  What I most appreciated about the snowflakes was the flood of childhood memories that rose up in that very moment. I remembered so many times I had done the exact same thing as a child,…
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