WELCOME TO OUR BLOG
Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
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Buddhism and the Eastern Middle Ground: In Buddhist tradition, our death falls into a plane of existence that continues even after our final breath -
10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know" />
10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know: NHPCO stresses that hospice is about living fully, not preparing for death. -
Man of Many Faces" />
Man of Many Faces: A niece says goodbye to her favorite gay uncle, in whom she confided about her own sexuality
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Category Archives: Opening our Hearts
All Dressed Up With No Where to Go
When a woman's best friend of 30 years dies unexpectedly, she finds herself in shock
Susan and Nancy lived ten blocks apart and, in the 1950s, raised their children as one big unit. On the rare days that the two didn’t see one another, they made sure to check in on the telephone. They exchanged … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Coffin, Coma, Death, Emergency Room, Howard Johnson's, Stomach Cancer
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The Power of Touch
A daughter used physical touch to comfort her terminally ill father throughout the last months of his life.
This is the story of Julie, as told by Jeanette Geraci… When Julie flew home for a visit the year before her father passed away, it was clear that his condition — Multiple System Atrophy – was getting worse. Eight … Continue reading
Man of Many Faces
A niece says goodbye to her favorite gay uncle, in whom she confided about her own sexuality
This is the story of Leslie, as told by Jeanette Geraci. Yesterday, Leslie was cleaning her father’s house when she stumbled upon a folder full of old photographs of her favorite uncle, Norman. In one photograph, Norman was on a … Continue reading
A Certain Adventure
Earthly reality: our hours with the ones we love are numbered, and to be valued.
This is the story of Larissa, as told by Jeanette Geraci. Larissa’s father, Oleksa, was a nuclear physicist, a university professor, a pilot, an expert skier and — in all manners of speaking — a lifelong seeker. Oleksa had studied engineering … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Buddhism, Cancer, Letting go, Loss of a Father, New York City
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Heart-To-Heart
One son's love of his father, extends into death
This is the story of Robert, as told by Jeanette Geraci. Robert’s father was a church volunteer. One Sunday, he stayed after services to count the other parishioners’ contributions when he collapsed beneath the weight of a staggering, squeezing sensation … Continue reading
Have Fun With Life! [IndiesForward Redux]
Sharing our story in honor of Julie Forward DeMay.
January 31st is IndiesForward day. Today across the internet we’re sharing stories of loss and experiences with cancer in honor of Julie Forward DeMay, who lost her battle to cervical before she could see her touching memoir, The Cell War Notebooks, released into the … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Cancer, Cell War Notebooks, Frandu, IndiesForward, Julie Forward DeMay, Self-Publishing
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Happiness is Something I Learned From My Parents
The unforgettable legacy and lessons they passed down over the years
This is Margie’s story, as told by Katie… Growing up, I had two amazing parents: Mabel Martinis and Roy Little. They were both born in the late 1800s and had me in their late forties. My mother, who exuded strength … Continue reading
A Fatal Car Accident
What it means to lose your best friend and gain a new outlook
This is Sergio’s story as told by Katie…. Coming up on the fourth year anniversary of my best friend’s death, I look back on what his life and death meant to me. I was twenty years old and in the … Continue reading
Growing Through Loss
Twin lessons from the death of two parents
This is Katy Polony’s story of her parents’ death, as told by her son, Antal Polony Of my two parents’ deaths, the death of my mother was the more significant for me. Partly because it came first, and partly because … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged End-of-life Art, End-of-life Decisions, Good Death, osteoporosis, Sleep
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“Doesn’t Matter if You’re Coming or Going”
Coping with loss through my poetry
Poetry of loss contributed by Nate Reid. “The Medically Induced Coma” A man stood beside a warm hospital bed Watching his son die, one piece at a time. “He still might survive,” the kind doctor said. “There’s one more solution … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Copy with Loss, Hearts, Loss of a Child, Loss of a friend, Poetry
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Healing Energy
How the holistic healing practice of Reiki helped one man through the grieving process
This is the story of Christopher Tellez, Reiki practitioner in San Francisco, as told by Antal Polony. At the time of my mother’s death I’d been in the social work field for over a decade. I’ve always been drawn to … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Christopher Tellez, Dealing with Grief, Holistic Energy, Holistic Healing, Reike, Yoga
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Summers on the Farm
How I learned the meaning of strength from my grandfather
This is Suzette’s story, as told by Katie Ryan. Of all his closest grandkids, I think I understood him the most. My grandfather, Otto, and I were always very close. As a kid, I would spend every summer with him … Continue reading
Have Fun with Life!
Finding freedom from loss and fear
This is the story of Francisco, “Frandu”, as told by Dana Sitar. I was out of my house, lost my family and my wife of twenty years. And the doctor had just informed me that I have about six years … Continue reading
Slowing Down to Reflect
The importance of meditating on life during the later years
This is the story of Mary Lynne, as told by Kelly Larsen My mother was 94 when she had a stroke. Prior to that her life was full: she had something planned daily, she walked fast; she was a busy … Continue reading
Healing Through Grief
How going home to die saved my life.
This story was contributed by Michelle Wallace. When I was twenty-five, I moved home to die. At the time, I didn’t say it like that to myself, that I was moving home to die. I wouldn’t allow myself to recognize … Continue reading
Lost but Not Forgotten
Developing a spiritual approach to death
This is the story of Adrienne, as told by Kelly Larsen I was married for 29 years; I got married when I was 23. And my husband and I sort of grew up together. We had the perfect marriage, everything … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Death, Grief, Remembrance, Shine on Brightly, Spirituality
3 Comments
Celebrating Lives Lost
How I dealt with the deaths of four family members within eight months
This is Lisa’s story as told by Katie…. In 2011, I lost my mother and my mother-in-law within ten days. Soon after that, I lost my brother-in-law’s mother and then my brother-in-law. These people were immensely important to me, and … Continue reading
God Just Took Care of Me
Growing Up After the Death of My Parents
This is the story of Nancy, as told by Dana Sitar. All I remember is what I’ve been told. Sometimes I think I have memories, but I’m pretty sure it’s just the stories people have shared with me over the … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Childhood, Death, Family, God, Grief, Loss, Loss of a Parent, Religion
1 Comment
Remembering My Father
Coming to terms with my father's end-of-life experience
This is Hugh’s story as told by Katie Ryan… My father lived with Parkinson’s disease for twenty years before he died and it progressed very slowly. He was diagnosed at the age I am now and died at seventy-two on … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Ad hominem, Caregiving, Conditions and Diseases, Cremation, Death, Dying at Home, Health, Hospice, Parkinson's disease, Support group
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Learning to Talk About It
How a Suicide Forever Changed my Life
This is an anonymous story, as told by Suzette Sherman. In retrospect it was an odd part of my life. I was growing up and I didn’t know it at the time. I was in my mid twenties and had … Continue reading