“For richer for poorer, in sickness, and in health.” On the happiest day of their lives, a beautiful couple make these vows in front of witnesses.  The happiness is so magical even the witnesses can’t imagine that there will ever be the poorer and in sickness part.  All in attendance pray that adversity will never show up in this marriage. When adversity of any kind strikes, whether that be financial, health, or the loss of a child, the couple is now faced with honoring their vows.  Severe adversity tends to intensify the kind of relationship a couple already had before adversity knocked on their door.  A marriage already in trouble can flounder.  It is in times like this the couple can become closer or move apart. In the case of the loss of a child, even when grieving the same loss, the husband may grieve differently than the wife.  One may be able to articulate how...

A Steel Magnolia is a woman who exemplifies both traditional femininity as well as uncommon fortitude. (Wikionary).   The term Steel Magnolia is usually used to describe a woman who has faced adversity full on with grace, poise, and dignity. I have seen the movie, Steel Magnolias, many times.  I originally saw it in the theater when it debuted  in 1989 with my mom and my aunts, all Steel Magnolias.  When I was a child and young woman, I watched each of them face an assortment of adversities and show me how it was done. They probably had no idea that I was watching them.  They didn’t whine about their problems; they just handled their problems.  It is such a gift to a girl to have strong female role models. When my grandmother had a heart attack, I saw them take shifts at the hospital for three weeks.  When she passed away early on Christmas morning, I watched my mom leave to meet...

I have had many emotions in the past few months.  All of the Seven Stages of Grief have shown up for Roll Call:  Shock and Denial, here.  Pain and Guilt, present. Anger and Bargaining, yep.  Depression, Reflection, and Loneliness, yes, ma’am.  The Upward Turn, Yes.  Reconstruction and Working Through, yes, indeed.  Acceptance and Hope, present and accounted for.  The thing that no one tells you is they don’t happen one at a time.  All Seven Stages show up for class every day.  Not all of them stay all day.  Some of them check in later in the day.  But it has been a bit of a surprise that all seven like to show up almost every day for longer than you would like.  Fortunately, some are just not participating as much as they used to. So, if you had tried to tell me that I would ever see a silver lining four...