Clare Smart. Celebrant and Blogger: Life as a Brain Cancer Carer then Young Widow/Solo Parent
I experienced time travel yesterday. It was intense and life affirming. It happened while I was attending a reunion morning tea at the pre-school my son last attended in 2012. The same year that my late husband died from brain cancer. My son was four and half years old and his sister was three. Now... Continue Reading →
My number one priority is to find joy and play every day for myself and to share fun activities with my children. The more the better! It is essential to balance my grief and stay connected to life.
What have I gleaned from my experience of the loss of my late husband that can ground me as I now grieve for the more recent loss of my father?
At my late husband's funeral I felt surrounded by love yet also isolated by my responsibilities as a mother of two bereft young children, my role as the bereaved widow and hostess, and my personal grief.
I carry a tight bundle of questions and concerns about raising my young children without their late father. All the worries have spun into knots held deep within. In the past few weeks I have felt some of the knots loosen and unravel. Yet again, I have been overcome with relief as different people have... Continue Reading →
What do you do when dreams bring to light some of your thoughts and questions from your subconscious? Since my late husband died, I have had several confronting, poignant dreams that have prompted me to face truths and emotions. One particularly unsettling dream occurred several times. This is what happened. My recurring dream My late... Continue Reading →
I am proud of my 8 year old daughter. Yesterday she was brave. In the face of loss and grief she chose love, kindness, creativity, compassion and gratitude. She lost her father five years ago to brain cancer when she was just three years old. Her grandfather (my father) died from Alzheimers disease three months... Continue Reading →
When I gave my late husband, Mick, a pair of thongs (flip-flops) for Christmas I had no idea that they would become one of the most loathed objects in my life. So much so, that three and half years later when Mick died from brain cancer, I immediately collected the thongs and hurled them into... Continue Reading →
While we were out exploring the city today, my children and I happened upon an extensive installation of paper daffodil tributes organised by the Cancer Council as a Field of Hope. Each daffodil had an individual message or drawing of love. It was beautiful. There was no way to ignore it because it covered the... Continue Reading →
Rainbows & Rollercoasters 