Category: Family
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Grieving, Not Writing
My mother died last month. My sister hosted a lovely family memorial for her this past weekend. I put together a slideshow, for which my uncle, my mother’s brother, related stories of their childhood. Now, my mind is mush. Grief mind. I do easy crosswords. My mother was an excellent crossword puzzler, unlike me, she…
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I Spoke in Public!
Thank you, Lianne Sauvage, for inviting me to share my mental health journey at Belmont High School’s Mental Health Assembly! For my speech, I adapted content from My Bipolar Thoughts, my memoir work-in-progress. The speech was scheduled for 25 minutes! I plan to refine these speaking notes and use them again for future speaking engagements:…
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Love, Marriage & Mental Illness
Been married 22 years today. Started dating 25 years ago. Some of us living with mental illness can and do have stable relationships. Some of us need someone else in our lives. My husband and I support each other, help each other, complement each other. Plus, we made a kid, now a young adult. Not…
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My Eulogy to Grandma
This afternoon I came across the memorial announcement for my grandmother’s death (which brought tears to my eyes) and the eulogy I wrote for her memorial (which I share with you, for I still believe that God calls us to carry on). My Eulogy to Grandma February 1993 I brought this quilt here today because,…
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Small Steps
Progress sometimes comes in small steps. This weekend I walked the dog with my husband, which meant I stepped away from my computer and actually went outside. Beautiful outside. Weather warm. Sky clear. Saddleback Mountain gorgeous, every nook and cranny visible as if I could reach out and touch it. Honestly, I find it hard…
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Who, Me, Dating?
At age 30, Kitt O’Malley moved in with her parents after treatment for debilitating depression resulted in psychotic mania which left her unable to do her work as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She left her career aspirations behind, and she started seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist who treated her for what was still thought…
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Martin Short Quote on Death
Martin Short’s wife Nancy died of cancer after almost 30 years of marriage. I love what he said about death in his AARP interview. I believe that when people die, they zoom into the people that love them. This idea that it just ends, and don’t speak of them — that’s wrong. That’s based on denial…
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I Will Not Cry Now
To avoid feeling overwhelmed and hold back the tears due to loss, stress and worry, I’ve started delving into my ancestry online. My therapist reframed what I was doing as focusing, rather than avoidance. She thought it was healthy. Now that my father has passed away and my mother’s health has faltered, I’m really, really…
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Exhausted While Bipolar
Recently I’ve been totally overwhelmed and exhausted. A virus almost took my mother’s life. Thank God she survived. Loving someone who is struggling for their life is hard. Really hard. I, too, was sick and avoided seeing my mother until she got so sick that cross-contamination was no longer an issue. Now, I’m still recovering,…