Thank you for this Andrew. I have my Mom still, who will be 94 this month but she has dementia. It’s not easy to see 24-7 . Like other comments my greater pain was from losing my only sibling to cancer about 3 years ago. I have phases I go thru but lately I’m still in the phase where if I think of him I can’t help but to cry. My Dad also passed with cancer 15 years ago. He died in my arms and I was mentally ill for a long while after. I finally started to exercise also- hitting a punching bag with all my strength to Rage Against the Machine, and this helped . Only - I wasn’t able to kill cancer and when my brothers cancer struggle made him too weak to walk or finally eat- my running with Foo Fighters blaring in my ears only helped me tho I wanted to walk and run for him. I’m proud of you and all that you do and write and share with your followers. I love to read about Boo, And Yaya and I still love Momo with you . Your books are in my dog shrine with other very important dog related treasures. I’m sorry for your losses and I treasure my border collies with every cell in my body. Is that ok in the same sentence ?
Not sure it is but I bet you understand. Hoping to meet you someday . I love you and wish you well always.
This is lovely Andrew, thank you. I lost my mom 5 years ago which was hard, but my greatest grief has come from losing my sister 2 years ago to breast cancer. She would join you for sure on your 10K run on the sunshine coast as a long time marathoner and Vancouverite. I will think of you both running on Sunday....
This is beautiful. I lost my mom to cancer 25 years ago when I was only 35 with two young kids. I miss her every single day. The paragraph that mentions my loved one watching from the other side; loved when you said, “Do something this weekend that would feed a good conversation with your mom.” YES! I do believe in the other side. I will definitely be approaching this day differently thanks to your beautiful words.
Thank you for sharing, Kelly. I was 32 when I lost my mom, no kids of course, but my niece misses her grandmother every day. I could imagine it was hard for everyone. I'm so glad you found something purposeful in this, and grateful for your comment ❤️
I also understand how this applies to losing a beloved pet. Momo passed on my birthday, July 16, and I think of him ever since on my birthday. I hug our Border Collie even tighter on those days.
Thanks for this Andrew. When I was 28, I lost my mom to cancer quite suddenly. In her final days I had to reconcile with the fact that she would miss so many milestones. She would never be at my wedding, and any children I had will never know her as the amazing nana she was supposed to be (because she would have been the best). This is my seventh Mother’s Day without her, and I’m planning to go sit in the fields where we spread her ashes so I can sit with the grief for awhile. I’ll think of you and your mom too.
thank you for these words, Andrew. i lost my mum suddenly when i was 37. she lived in england and i am in washington 7000km away. it took me a long time to realize that she had been living vicariously through me: my emigration, my hikes in the woods, my doggies (one set of whom she was able to meet); my career choices, and other adventures. i used to ring her on saturday mornings without fail and we would have conversations like - what's the weather? how are the dogs? nothing too personal because of my stepfather's omnipresence.
i love the idea of honoring her by taking care of myself. thank you for suggesting that.
Thank you for sharing this, reminds me that I am not alone in grief after losing my mom five years ago. I am going on a hike for mothers day, I agree we have to keep moving forward and making them proud. This was such an moving essay.
I thought losing my mother when I was 37 was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. We had a good relationship but not perfect. Then 2 years later I lost my dad. That was hard but by then I'd already gone through it once. But then 4 years later I found out my husband had cancer and we dealt with that for 7 years. He passed away when we were both 50 years old. We had two children. 17 and 15. He died 2 days after my son graduated from high school. Losing your spouse has to be one of the worst things ever. I dream about my mom and knowing that she lived a pretty full life. I can accept that more than I do about my husband. I'll never get over that, especially for my kids and the fact that now we have a 5-year-old grandson that he'll never ever ever see. Grief is terrible. It isn't something that goes away. It isn't something that necessarily gets less as time goes by. It's just there and always will be. For mother's Day I think about my mom but I also think about me being a mother and having my daughter-in-law be a mother. Those are the things that I think about.
Oh, Marlene. Thank you for sharing this. I’m so sorry for all that you’ve been through. What you wrote about your grandson and the layers of Mother’s Day really stayed with me. Grief doesn’t go away, like you said... it just becomes part of how we live. I’m really grateful you shared this here. Sending you so much love and warm thoughts.
Andrew, I first saw you speak at Shutterhound about a month after losing my mum to a rapid and aggressive brain cancer. I felt completely shattered at the time. Your talk about your mom and Momo and life and death left me in a puddle on the floor, but it was exactly what I needed at that moment. Later I pre-ordered "Find Momo Everywhere" to help my then-six-year-old niece cope with her deep grief at losing her grandmother. I appreciate the vulnerability and magic in your writing and art. Thank you. <3
Thank you for this Andrew. I have my Mom still, who will be 94 this month but she has dementia. It’s not easy to see 24-7 . Like other comments my greater pain was from losing my only sibling to cancer about 3 years ago. I have phases I go thru but lately I’m still in the phase where if I think of him I can’t help but to cry. My Dad also passed with cancer 15 years ago. He died in my arms and I was mentally ill for a long while after. I finally started to exercise also- hitting a punching bag with all my strength to Rage Against the Machine, and this helped . Only - I wasn’t able to kill cancer and when my brothers cancer struggle made him too weak to walk or finally eat- my running with Foo Fighters blaring in my ears only helped me tho I wanted to walk and run for him. I’m proud of you and all that you do and write and share with your followers. I love to read about Boo, And Yaya and I still love Momo with you . Your books are in my dog shrine with other very important dog related treasures. I’m sorry for your losses and I treasure my border collies with every cell in my body. Is that ok in the same sentence ?
Not sure it is but I bet you understand. Hoping to meet you someday . I love you and wish you well always.
Sandy
This is lovely Andrew, thank you. I lost my mom 5 years ago which was hard, but my greatest grief has come from losing my sister 2 years ago to breast cancer. She would join you for sure on your 10K run on the sunshine coast as a long time marathoner and Vancouverite. I will think of you both running on Sunday....
This is beautiful. I lost my mom to cancer 25 years ago when I was only 35 with two young kids. I miss her every single day. The paragraph that mentions my loved one watching from the other side; loved when you said, “Do something this weekend that would feed a good conversation with your mom.” YES! I do believe in the other side. I will definitely be approaching this day differently thanks to your beautiful words.
Thank you for sharing, Kelly. I was 32 when I lost my mom, no kids of course, but my niece misses her grandmother every day. I could imagine it was hard for everyone. I'm so glad you found something purposeful in this, and grateful for your comment ❤️
I also understand how this applies to losing a beloved pet. Momo passed on my birthday, July 16, and I think of him ever since on my birthday. I hug our Border Collie even tighter on those days.
You're such an angelic source. Thank you Andrew... Me and all my past dogs are there with you ..
🐕🐕🐕🐕🫶🐕🐕🐕🐕
Thanks for this Andrew. When I was 28, I lost my mom to cancer quite suddenly. In her final days I had to reconcile with the fact that she would miss so many milestones. She would never be at my wedding, and any children I had will never know her as the amazing nana she was supposed to be (because she would have been the best). This is my seventh Mother’s Day without her, and I’m planning to go sit in the fields where we spread her ashes so I can sit with the grief for awhile. I’ll think of you and your mom too.
❤️
thank you for these words, Andrew. i lost my mum suddenly when i was 37. she lived in england and i am in washington 7000km away. it took me a long time to realize that she had been living vicariously through me: my emigration, my hikes in the woods, my doggies (one set of whom she was able to meet); my career choices, and other adventures. i used to ring her on saturday mornings without fail and we would have conversations like - what's the weather? how are the dogs? nothing too personal because of my stepfather's omnipresence.
i love the idea of honoring her by taking care of myself. thank you for suggesting that.
Thank you for sharing this, reminds me that I am not alone in grief after losing my mom five years ago. I am going on a hike for mothers day, I agree we have to keep moving forward and making them proud. This was such an moving essay.
I thought losing my mother when I was 37 was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. We had a good relationship but not perfect. Then 2 years later I lost my dad. That was hard but by then I'd already gone through it once. But then 4 years later I found out my husband had cancer and we dealt with that for 7 years. He passed away when we were both 50 years old. We had two children. 17 and 15. He died 2 days after my son graduated from high school. Losing your spouse has to be one of the worst things ever. I dream about my mom and knowing that she lived a pretty full life. I can accept that more than I do about my husband. I'll never get over that, especially for my kids and the fact that now we have a 5-year-old grandson that he'll never ever ever see. Grief is terrible. It isn't something that goes away. It isn't something that necessarily gets less as time goes by. It's just there and always will be. For mother's Day I think about my mom but I also think about me being a mother and having my daughter-in-law be a mother. Those are the things that I think about.
Marlene Morgenfeld
Oh, Marlene. Thank you for sharing this. I’m so sorry for all that you’ve been through. What you wrote about your grandson and the layers of Mother’s Day really stayed with me. Grief doesn’t go away, like you said... it just becomes part of how we live. I’m really grateful you shared this here. Sending you so much love and warm thoughts.
Andrew, I first saw you speak at Shutterhound about a month after losing my mum to a rapid and aggressive brain cancer. I felt completely shattered at the time. Your talk about your mom and Momo and life and death left me in a puddle on the floor, but it was exactly what I needed at that moment. Later I pre-ordered "Find Momo Everywhere" to help my then-six-year-old niece cope with her deep grief at losing her grandmother. I appreciate the vulnerability and magic in your writing and art. Thank you. <3