Elin Stebbins Waldal

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Does Sorrow Prevent Joy

Dec 1, 2014 By elinwaldal 22 Comments

Does Sorrow Prevent Joy

It is December 1st and against better judgment — I committed to publishing daily as part of NaBloPoMo — again. The theme this month is joy, a subject that actually does fascinate me, so if you are a regular here you can expect to hear a little more about it for the next 30 days. As it happens just […]

Filed Under: Healing, NaBloPoMo Dec 14 Tagged With: Creative Process, Grief, Joy, NaBloPoMo Dec 14, Writing

Losing Ellie

Nov 17, 2014 By elinwaldal 44 Comments

Losing Ellie

Losing Ellie, my husband’s mother, was one of the most difficult things our family has experienced. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared us for her unexpected loss of life. What I have found is emotions stay. They don’t remain at the surface the way dried blood does as a scab to the skin. No, emotional wounds are different. All that […]

Filed Under: Death of a Parent, Grief, NaBloPoMo Nov 14 Tagged With: car accident, Death of a loved one, Death of Mother, Grief, Love, Mother

I Never Expected to Grieve for My Mother

Aug 29, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 18 Comments

I Never Expected to Grieve for My Mother

Lined up in the garage as if they are expecting us still are the dining room chairs of my youth. In all, there are five. Yet now, as if in a dream, I see eight. Eight wood chairs—each pushed under an antique table that, if you were not seated in the middle where the leaves […]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Death of Mother, Grief

Write What Haunts You

Apr 27, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 18 Comments

Write What Haunts You

“Write what haunts you, lest you spend your life amidst drivel. Write what you care most about, the beauty, the absurdity, and the sorrow of the world.”–Jane Resh Thomas In the quiet of an unoccupied room I exhaled the words I’d just read in a whisper… “Write what haunts you…” Had you asked me prior to […]

Filed Under: Grief, Just Write Tagged With: Death of Mother, Grief, Loss of Mother, Writing

Attitude: Perspective Day 16

Feb 16, 2014 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 8 Comments

Attitude: Perspective Day 16

Noelle Pikus-Pace. Wow. Just wow. In the note she wrote to herself that read: “This is it. Don’t get scared now.” followed by a smiley face, Noelle Pikus-Pace set the stage for herself; smile–just smile. I doubt there is a soul alive who watched Noelle Pikus-Pace climb up over the rail and into the stands […]

Filed Under: Healing, Marriage, Memories Tagged With: Grief, Healing, Love, Noelle Pikus-Place, Olympics

Baking and Memory

Nov 28, 2013 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 2 Comments

Baking and Memory

Crouched down I retrieved the binder which is beyond bursting with recipes—some clipped from newspaper, some from magazines, while others were passed on. I knew what I was looking for when I flipped the tab marked “breads” to the side. Her long-hand penmanship came into view; involuntarily I sat on the cold tile beneath the […]

Filed Under: Grief, NaBloPoMo13 Tagged With: cooking, Death, Grandma, Grief, sweet rolls, Tradition

Folded, Hanging and Boxed: My Closet Life

Oct 30, 2013 By Elin Stebbins Waldal Leave a Comment

Folded, Hanging and Boxed: My Closet Life

  Whenever I purge my closet, I always imagine the results will be long-lasting. I know I’m deluding myself, but indulging in the fantasy is cheap entertainment. There are articles of clothing which, no matter how long I keep them, still aren’t my style. They are only made more pathetic by the flimsy wire hangers […]

Filed Under: Grief, Life Cleanse, Young at Heart Tagged With: Cleaning, Closet Cleaning, Grief, Memory

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An excerpt from Tornado Warning, read by the author

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© Copyright Elin Stebbins Waldal and Beyond the Backyard Blues 2011 – 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Elin Stebbins Waldal is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must be in full and with clear credit given to Elin Stebbins Waldal, and Beyond the Backyard Blues, additionally, the appropriate and specific direction must be linked to the original content.

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