If you follow my blog you may have wondered where I’ve been for the last year and a half. I’ve been dealing with illness and loss. Let me start by saying how grateful I am to have been blessed with loving and present parents, unfortunately, they both passed away just four months apart from one another. My father passed away in August, my mother in December of 2017.

They were the heart and soul of my family and quite frankly, my siblings and I are having a difficult time navigating life without them. In fact, it’s the most difficult thing we’ve ever had to endure. I honestly don’t know how we are functioning but we are taking it one day at a time. I’m thankful for my siblings and although we try to be supportive of one another we are each handling grief in our own unique ways. After all, we each had different relationships with our parents. In the end, we all mourn alone, that’s just the way it is. Grief is an emotion that needs to be felt alone.
I’m not quite ready to share any more about the passing of my parents, it’s too raw and painful, but I do want to share my journey with you. I’m not sure how but I know that I will survive this loss and thrive. Partly because I have no choice, I have a beautiful little girl to raise and partly because I come from resilient stock.

In my blogs, I’ll share things that I’ve learned, things that inspire me. pacify me and keep me sane. I know that there are so many of you who have gone through difficult times and that perhaps there are some who are going through it now, just like I am. I just want you to know that I’m here to be your sounding board, your virtual friend, maybe even your lifeline, or perhaps you will be mine. I’ll leave you with this little inspiration, from one of my favorite poets……(I know it’s so cliche..all the Persians/Afghans claim Rumi as their favorite poet because he is the greatest but also because he is one of us. I guess that’s natural, to have pride in someone so knowledgeable, beautifully poetic and so connected to God who comes from your part of the world. }
“This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief.”
— Rumi
So proud of you, friend.