MEET US

Amanda, remembering my Dad (Robert Smith, age 57) who died August 15, 2007 in a farming accident.

Jen, remembering & cherishing my aunt (Katherine Johanson, age 48), lost June 5, 2009 to breast cancer and my grandma (Marion Finnegan), lost June 21, 2006, also to cancer.
Lisa, remembering my loving and supportive mother, Nettie Hartman, who died on January 31, 2005 from cancer and my dear friend, Cheryl Holzman, who died on April 14, 2008, also from cancer. I miss them both, each and every day. My world just isn't the same without them.
Marti, remembering my beautiful Grandson Quincey who died 5 days after his birth in 2005; and my Grandmother, Genevieve, who lived for 97 wonderful years.
Sherry, remembering my dad, Bert Fukuda (died Aug 1998) and my mother-in-law, Billie Cartwright (passed Sept 2008).
Stacey, remembering my Daddy (Doug Douglass, age 64) who passed away on May 30, 2007, six weeks after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

Tania, remembering Sue Ann Werner (mom, age 50) who died July 19, 2007 suddenly and very unexpectedly from cardiac arrest.

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Thursday
11Mar2010

"What are words worth?" by Lisa

DateThursday, March 11, 2010 at 5:00AM

Here's Lisa:

I wasn't quite sure what approach I was going to take with this challenge, until I started brainstorming with my husband. I realized that letters and words were a big part of my Mom's life and I wanted to document that. I used a page from her crumbling copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations on here and I picked the Walt Whitman page purposefully because she went to Walt Whitman High School. I also like how the title kind of makes reference to another writer, Wordsworth. I don't have too many contemporary photos of my Mom but when I saw this one, outside of a news store at the airport, I liked how it tied into the theme and journaling so I had to use it. :)


Journaling reads: Letters and words were part of your life in so many ways. You anticipated the Sunday New York Times so you could do the crossword puzzle. No one else was allowed to touch it, at least until you had had a serious crack at it. Your well-worn copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations helped you with many puzzle clues over the years. The cover is gone, the binding crumbled, and the pages yellowed, but I cherish it. I keep it in a zippered plastic bag.

Remember your old IBM Selectric typewriter? I think it was red. It sat on a little table in the family room in Chelmsford. I loved pretending to type as fast as you. When I was older and had learned to type, I thought it was such a privilege to be able to use it.

I also remember how you used shorthand symbols to write notes when you didn’t want us to read something (like a gift list). Great way to keep a secret!

Lastly, I think of our phone calls and conversations, filled with words and laughter. I miss being able to talk to you, on the phone or in person.  Memories sustain me, but only for so long...I miss you!

Please remember to link us up in the comments of the original post if you complete this challenge. We'd love to see your interpretation and always appreciate you letting us get to know your loved ones better! 

AuthorGood Grief Blog | Comment2 Comments |
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Tuesday
09Mar2010

"A True Family Name" and "Grandma M" by Jen

DateTuesday, March 9, 2010 at 5:00AM

Here's Jen:

I had a hard time thinking of how I wanted to tackle this challenge for my aunt.  I decided to use the alphabet as a springboard, and tell the story of how she changed her last name several years ago.  I originally was going to title the layout from W to J (her last initials) but that just didn’t flow.  After visiting Swedish relatives and seeing where our family history existed, It was important for Katherine to honor her heritage, and Kath decided to change her last name so it truly reflected that of our Swedish roots. 


Journaling: Kath & Grandma went to Sweden in June 1999… the trip changed their lives.  After she returned home, Kath decided she needed to honor her Swedish heritage, and her Grandpa.  She went from a Waters to a Johanson.

* * * * * * * * * * *

I have always called my Grandma, “Grandma Em”, so this was an easy letter to pick!  I wanted to document the story of how she became Grandma Em (despite not being an Emily!), so it worked well for this challenge.

Journaling: Before she was a Mom & Grandma, she earned a degree from UW and worked at a dairy.  Story goes that she wore an extra jumpsuit, embroidered with “Em.”  She was never Grandma Marion or Finnegan, always Grandma M.  And I’m proud I made her a Grandma.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Please remember to link us up in the comments of the original post if you complete this challenge. We'd love to see your interpretation and always appreciate you letting us get to know your loved ones better! 

AuthorGood Grief Blog | CommentPost a Comment |
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Monday
08Mar2010

"Brought to you by the letter F" by Amanda

DateMonday, March 8, 2010 at 5:00AM

Hmmm. What to say? I'm one of those who likes grouping things together. This challenge, then, was right up my alley. I started by simply trying to think of words that really described who my dad was. Discovering that they all started with "F" made it easy...

You can read the journaling by clicking on the layout to view it larger. Beyond that, I just wanted to say that one of the things I love most about this blog is how the challenges provide a starting point. We all have so much bouncing around in our heads...often (for me, anyhow), it's figuring out where to start that is the most difficult. Once I have a starting point, things flow more easily and I'm able to capture some of my thoughts and stories about my dad. I love that. :)

Please remember to link us up in the comments of the original post if you complete this challenge. We'd love to see your interpretation and always appreciate you letting us get to know your loved ones better! 

AuthorGood Grief Blog | Comment2 Comments |
in
Friday
05Mar2010

"S is for Serendipity" by Tania

DateFriday, March 5, 2010 at 5:00AM

Here's Tania:

Nearly every time I visited Mom, we ordered Chinese from Jade's just down the street from my childhood home. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Jade's = good Chinese food. Well, it used to anyway. In more recent years, mom mumbled about new owners and how the food just wasn't the same anymore. I digress. 
 
Because Suzi so fabulously awesome at knowing just what I need, right when I need it, she made reservations to take me out to PF Changs, a local Chinese bistro at Easton Towne Center.  Dinner was awesomely delicious, but the conversation was even better with both Suzi & her friend Diane (who also lost her mom many years ago).  
 
We talked about everything from the night I got called to the hospital, to the bingo dauber that someone put in her hand during visitation at the funeral home, and everything in between. I've never laughed as much as I did last night in my life. I'm in a good place right now with the grieving process—the memories are soft & sweet. 
 
Anywho. Back to the story.  I'm sure you're all familiar with the custom of getting a fortune cookie after eating Chinese, am I right?  
 
and you certainly know the etiquette for fortune cookies, don't you? 
 
1. always, always, always take the one farthest away from you. 
2. always add the words "in bed" to the end of your fortune, LOL. (just for fun.) 
 
Well. I'm not so sure that there is really an etiquette--but those rules sound convincing don't they? 
 
Regardless, those are the rules in our family. Rules established more out of necessity than anything. Makes the fighting, between the girls, over who gets which cookie melt away because when they all get dropped in the middle of the table you just have to pick the one farthest from you. This is serious business ya know. We've been known to measure, even. kidding. 
 
If you've eaten Chinese food as much as I have, you definitely know that the little slips of paper inside those fortune cookies have printing on both sides. Sometimes you're lucky and you get two fortunes in one. If you've never opened a fortune cookie, you should know that there is a little slip of paper inside each cookie. With typeface on both sides. 
 
One side: is your fortune---that you must read aloud & six LUCKY numbers. don't forget to add the words "in bed" on the end of your fortune reading. (just for fun.) boy have we had some funnnnnnny ones. 
 
Other side: is an English word with the Chinese translation. 
 
No joke.....this was my piece of paper inside my fortune cookie last night. (See layout)
 

I'm thinkin' I need to rush my hiney to the corner gas station and play those lucky numbers in the lottery tonight!

Please remember to link us up in the comments of the original post if you complete this challenge. We'd love to see your interpretation and always appreciate you letting us get to know your loved ones better! 

AuthorGood Grief Blog | Comment3 Comments |
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Wednesday
03Mar2010

"Dad" by Sherry

DateWednesday, March 3, 2010 at 5:00AM

Here's Sherry:

When the alphabet challenge was presented, my first thought was to use the entire alphabet on the layout.   Ideas were swirling and the initial idea I had envision was nothing like the end result.  I did use the entire alphabet, but as the background.  Then, I typed the words that remind me of or describe my dad and corresponded with each letter of the alphabet.  I will eventually tell the story behind each descriptive word.

There are so many words that describe my dad, but when I was tested with each letter, I was almost dumb-founded.  I could only describe my dad as dad.   Tough.  But, I am glad I have these thoughts on paper to jumpstart other layouts about him.  


Journaling:
Army. Bowling. Caring. Dad. Extra special. Fukuda. Gamble. Handyman. IOU. Japanese. Kung Fu Cowboy. Little league baseball. Married. neighbor. Oriental food. Parental. Quiet. Red socks. Sibling. Teacher. Unconditional. Volkswagen. White owl cigars. Xrays. Yardword. Z. 

Please remember to link us up in the comments of the original post if you complete this challenge. We'd love to see your interpretation and always appreciate you letting us get to know your loved ones better! 

AuthorGood Grief Blog | Comment3 Comments |
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