My dad died on Valentine’s Day from a cancer in his brain that he fought for a year and a half. I’ll talk about that more one day, but what I want to say now comes from the buildup and the fallout. What I want to say is not about the suffering and turmoil that I watched my dad and my family experience for that year and a half, or the milestones we hit every day that I never mentioned, like the last day he had ice cream or went outside. I want to talk about him and I will. But today, I want to talk about the aftermath. People don’t know what to say about death and dying. They tell you they’re sorry and they could never do what you’re doing, they tell you how strong you are and graceful you’re being, admire how you’re “back to work” or “still able to have fun”. Grievers are told time and time again, nobody knows what the right thing to say is. And we have grace. Giggle it off and nod our heads, tell them thank you and it’s okay. Because it is okay. They aren’t doing anything wrong t...
Correction *they laughed. Are we getting too close on this blog? Am I getting too comfortable? Maybe. But I’m gonna talk about getting embarrassed. Can anyone guess what song I was singing? It’s a banger!!!! But the moment I looked over into the Kia Soul beside me and saw a my-aged boy laughing at me, I felt my soul leave my body. Cheeks: red Fight or flight: activated Music: paused Ready to: die And the light turned green, he went down a different road, and that was the end of it. That was literally the end of it. And here’s where I had my breakthrough (early in the story! I know!) Being embarrassed is stupid you guys. It’s literally the stupidest thing. I have lived in this city (a massive one at that) a whole 4 weeks. And I’m really about to be embarrassed by some guy sitting next to me in traffic that I’ll never see again? Yeah right. Think about a time you saw someone do something stupid. Like their foot catches the sidewalk and...