June was graduation month for most American high schools.  Our twin grandchildren graduated then, and my husband and I attended the ceremony.  It was an emotional experience because we are GRGs, grandparents raising grandchildren.  We …

On the first anniversary of our daughter’s death, my husband and I held a graveside service in her memory. It was a brief service because the February temperature hovered around zero and the wind chill …

Ever since my daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash in 2007, I’ve become more aware of the sacred moments in my life.  Before she died I thought I was aware …

In her new book, “Just Who Will You Be?” Maria Shriver discusses life purpose and planning.  “Ask yourself, ‘Who do I want to be?’  It’s the most important question of your life,” she writes. 
Her question …

“We don’t see many people these days,” my husband commented.
“I know,” I answered. “It’s because of our multiple losses.”
After our twin grandchildren lost their parents in separate car crashes in 2007 we became their legal …

A sudden and traumatic death shatters your world. The changes may be readily apparent or may take months, or even years, to emerge. In 2007, my elder daughter (mother of my twin grandchildren) and father-in-law …

Oprah has one of the top shows on television, but I rarely have time to see it.  Last week, however, I watched part of Oprah’s interview with Rosie O’Donnell.  For decades, Rosie had been portraying …

Last month, my husband and I went to a holiday party. We enjoyed the food, piano music, and visiting with friends. As we prepared to leave, a friend asked what I was doing these days. …

When my brother died in the spring of 2007, I barely had time to mourn him. Our elder daughter — mother of our twin grandchildren — had died four months earlier. My father-in-law died the …

Today would have been my elder daughter’s birthday.  She was born on Thanksgiving Day decades ago.  The hospital staff was preparing a turkey dinner for the new mothers, and I was very aware of the tantalizing …

I try to take care of myself, and most of the time I do a good job of it. Getting an annual physical exam is part of my self-care plan. My exam started yesterday and …

Losing four loved ones within a nine-month span made my mind go in all directions.  I thought about my childhood, things I wished I could have changed, and a future without my loved ones.  Most …

Multiple losses have been the biggest challenge of my life. In February of 2007 my daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Two days later my father-in-law died of pneumonia. Then, …

Grief is isolating.  You may become so isolated that you are barely aware of your friends’ help.  Sure, you remember their phone calls and sympathy cards, but you may not see the scope of their …

by Harriet Hodgson –
Multiple losses have been the biggest challenge of my life. In February of 2007 my daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Two days later my father-in-law died …

By Harriet Hodgson –
The death of a child is a lifetime loss and parents never recover from it.? Instead, they learn to live with it.? A popular belief is that men don’t cry; they hold …