Where've YOU Been?

Sweet Hummer

out in

Sedona

Good rainy (again) morning

here at home,

where ya been ...

I've missed yall!

Miami was sunny hot and filled with folks

all over the world

there to gather for the

ADEC

Association of Death Education and Counseling

Conference!

And gather they did; some of the famous and scholarly and students and those

from places all around

to attend the many and varied sessions held through the three days!

The scholarly, the papers presented on studies of end of life issues; they were there...

the discussions and meetings of those scholars

from near and far;

and the evening of Latin music where all let their hair down and danced the evening away was quite fun

as I sat with my convener of my session; a delightful young woman named Kim and her friend Carrie who is working on her dissertation

both lovely and quite fun!

I enjoyed them immensely.

Kim introduced me to her locket she wears around her neck that held a photo of her beloved 6 year old

CODY who had died and she told me of each evening when she takes her locket off and lays it on her dresser

only to awaken with the locket sprung open!

We talked and her eyes widened as I told her

I think "Cody is playing with you, as he lets you know [there is NO distance and he is doing just fine]..."

><

"Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma." Wizard of Oz The hotel was lovely

but

oh wow was that room "hot" even after attempts of having them come and "fix" the a/c

I was still "hot"!

But a grand time was held before speaking and after

seeing old friends

and meeting new folks in the field of academia

along with those in the field of care.

It was ever so good

to get in the car

and drive through

Alligator Alley on the way home, HOME

and

now to get ready to leave in the morning

to meet folks at

CROSSROADS HOSPICE in Kansas

at their Retreat

at

Harrahs Casino there

to provide the keynote address for their gathering.

COB has that CA surgery on her leg yesterday,

now home with her leg UP in the air, she will recover until time for the stitches to be taken out and get the green light to fly here with the Godsons for a vacation.

She is glad it is over and prays all will be done and she will enjoy wellness now.

I thank you for the responses of the last blog

and now hope we can add to those thoughts with more stories,

they are stories to share

ones to enhance care and stories to allow those in hospice to learn from

ones to allow them to enhance their care of those they are honored to serve.

Here's how I see it

we can only be at our best

in our service to others

and

by stepping out and stepping forward

with straight eyes and clean hands.

You can be sure that I will share your stories

when I speak across the Nation

and

If you want to share your loved ones names with me, I will honor them, keeping them alive

by saying their names

and

by letting those I speak with know the stories

and the names.

There is no greater way

to learn;

no greater gift than putting a name to the story to make it real; the good and the not so good

as the stories that make it real.

So for today;

Walk with beauty of all that there is;

remember that each time you say the name of your loved one and bring them in the conversation; you give others permission to talk about them, to keep them alive through their memory in conversation in a healthy way, to honor that their life was much larger then that moment of the death.

May you have a lovely day today,

knowing you are thought of, knowing you are a warrior of gentle spirit.

Walk In Beauty

DRSES

author of

Healing Heartaches,

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/