Tag: Grief

• Mothers and Daughters

  

  Dear Kori Jane, Being the mother of a published author fills me with immense pride and maybe just a tiny bit of fear of the stories you’ll tell about our crazy family! A few weeks ago, your little sister came home concerned about my reputation after being asked by a friend if your poems were…

  Laura Spaulding

  February 17, 2025

  Family and Faith, Learning and Healing Through Nature and Creation, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Unity in Diversity, Words to Kori Jane

  beauty, childhood, Faith, Family, friendship, grace, grandparents, Grief, growing, healing, joy, motherhood, mothers, Parenting, travel

• Four Years Later

  

  Dear Kori Jane, Exactly four years ago this week, Leap Day 2020, in King County Washington, the first US death from Covid-19 was reported. The reality of what was unfolding in Seattle had not yet hit us down here in Houston. Hundreds of thousands of Houstonians were still gathering daily for the annual Houston Livestock…

  Laura Spaulding

  March 3, 2024

  Family and Faith, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Words to Kori Jane

  anxiety, beauty, cancer, childhood, Children, covid19, death, Faith, Family, grace, grandparents, Grief, growing up, healing, high school, joy, middle school, motherhood, mothers, natural disaster, Parenting, poems, poetry, teenagers, travel, truth

• Never Alone

  

  Dear Kori Jane, Last year, this mother of yours reluctantly agreed to an all-day bike ride through the mountains of Montana. As you are aware, I’m not exactly fit and I have no cycling experience. Our dear friend Devon, having traveled this road before, assured me the trail was mostly downhill, and the views would…

  Laura Spaulding

  November 1, 2023

  Family and Faith, Learning and Healing Through Nature and Creation, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Words to Kori Jane

  adult children, beauty, bicycling, Children, cycling, darkness, depression, Faith, Family, friendship, grace, Grief, growing, healing, joy, light, middle age, motherhood, mothers, nature, Parenting, strength, truth, tunnels

• Seasons Always Change

  

  Dear Lacey, After entertaining the idea of moving last year, Dad and I decided to settle in and get you and your sister graduated before leaving our beloved home of 15 years. Then the first week of March, just after my sycamore tree finally sprang back to life, a house came on the market tempting…

  Laura Spaulding

  June 10, 2023

  Family and Faith, Individualized Parenting and Education, Learning and Healing Through Nature and Creation, Learning Differences and Disabilities, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Unity in Diversity, Words to Lacey

  anxiety, cancer, change, Children, death, Education, Faith, Family, flood, grace, Grief, healing, homeschool, hurricane, joy, moving, natural disaster, nature, Parenting, recovery, seasons, survival, teenagers, trees

• A Weary World Rejoices

  

  Dear Cade, Nothing about December 2022 has felt Christmassy. Maybe it was starting the month missing you and your sister as you finished your first semesters of college. Or maybe it’s Dad’s job demanding more of him than any of us like to spare. And then there was my bright idea to trade in rogue…

  Laura Spaulding

  December 27, 2022

  Family and Faith, GT and Twice Exceptional Kids, Individualized Parenting and Education, Parenting Teenagers, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Words to Cade

  bird, birds, Children, christmas, college, Faith, Family, grace, Grief, holidays, joy, Parenting, parrotlet, pets, son, teenagers, twice exceptional

• It’s Not That Deep

  

  Dear Hallie, Today is Mother’s Day and just like every other second Sunday in May for the last ten years, I find myself experiencing a tidal wave of grief mingled gladness. It’s difficult to believe I’ve survived ten Mother’s Days without my mom around to share in the joys and burdens of my own motherhood…

  Laura Spaulding

  May 8, 2022

  Family and Faith, Learning and Healing Through Nature and Creation, Parenting Teenagers, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Words to Hallie

  Faith, Family, gardening, grace, grandparents, Grief, high school, joy, mothers day, Parenting, teenagers

• The Rain

  Dear Kori Jane, Twelve years ago almost to the day, you and I were heading to a little neighborhood carnival right by our home that we had passed that morning on our way to church. It was nothing fancy, just some hand painted wooden games set out on card tables and a bounce house or…

  Laura Spaulding

  August 4, 2019

  Family and Faith, Learning and Healing Through Nature and Creation, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Words to Kori Jane

  Children, Faith, Family, grace, grandchildren, Grief, joy, loss, Parenting, rain

• Charm Bracelets

  

  Dear Hallie, When I was in the fourth grade, I sold enough Girl Scout cookies to win the custom-made, sterling silver, James Avery, puppy dog charm. This was back when the awards were special enough to motivate the selling of a ridiculous number of cookies. Turns out the hours of door-to-door selling followed by more…

  Laura Spaulding

  June 22, 2019

  Family and Faith, Learning Differences and Disabilities, Parenting through Grief, Trauma, and Loss, Unity in Diversity, Words to Hallie

  cerebral palsy, Children, Disability, Faith, Family, flooding, friendship, grace, Grief, Parenting