Dear World

Please be gentle with hurting souls as they make their way through the holiday season this year.

Buddy & Zoey

Hurting hearts are walking among us, quiet and unseen. Their smiles seem bright. Their laugh sounds real. They show up for others. All while silently carrying the, often unbearable, weight of grief.

Some will set the table with one less place setting this year. Others will hold a recipe card in their grandmother’s handwriting and feel the ache of her absence all over again.

There will be moments of real joy – followed by the sharp sting of an arrow to the heart when they realize that these new memories being made don’t include the one they really wish was still here.

It’s a strange thing, being human. How joy and grief are forever intertwined.

So if you see a grieving heart, don’t look away. Lean in. Cry with them. Sit with them in silence, if that’s all they can manage. Let your love be louder than their silence.

No, love can’t fix grief.
But it reminds us we’re not alone in it.
And that’s what matters most.

🐾🎄 My little Buddy 🎄🐾

That is the best gift you can give someone this holiday season – your presence.

Do You Need A Hug?

Ernest Hemingway once said,
In our darkest moments, we don’t need advice.”

And I agree. What we truly need is connection: a quiet presence, a gentle hug, or the smallest gesture that reminds us we’re not alone. Those simple acts of kindness may very well become the anchors that keep us grounded when life feels overwhelming.

Pain is deeply personal.  Each struggle is uniquely ours to face. But even if your presence is silent, it tells me I don’t have to face this stuff alone. It’s a quiet reminder that, no matter how broken I feel, I am still worthy of human connection.

Sometimes, words aren’t necessary. Silent support speaks louder than anything else does. Love and kindness, in its purest form, has the power to help us reclaim and restore ourselves, even when we have lost sight of who we are.

I just wanted to remind you of the importance of simply being there for each other because life is hard and being alone sucks.

There is a suicide epidemic in our country.

So reach out and hug someone, if you can.  Without even realizing it, you could be saving a life. Maybe even be your own.