goodmourningra

[goodmourningra]

Woke up this morning in Washington, D.C.! I absolutely love this place! It's like "NYC lite!" I often come here to clear my mind, find my solitude, recharge. Today is the 9th anniversary of my mother's passing. Crazy! 9 years already?! As I sit in my solitude, sipping this coffee, I swear I can hear her laugh; her smile is so present this morning. Every time, around her anniversary and birthday, even around the times I need her the most, Anita Baker always seem to play on the radio! I kid you not! Every time! Last night, Anita Baker's, "Caught Up In The Rapture," came on the radio. I promise, she is still communicating with me! Death cannot destroy our bond. Today, I'll search for her in the silence, in a child's laughter, in the scent of a flower, in the bluest sky, in the brightest star, in my dreams, in every song by Anita Baker and Stephanie Mills, and in every beat of my heart. I miss you, Babe! I'll continue to strive to make you proud! I love you! -Twon #GriefSucks #washingtondc #DenineSears #anniversary #InMySolitude #Healing #goodmourningRa #Searsly #mommasboy

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Building a Community for Grief and the New Normal with Vivian Nunez

To learn more about Too Damn Young and Vivian’s mission, check out @2damnyoung.

“I lost my mom when I was 10, and I lost my grandma when I was 21. I realized through therapy that I had anxiety and depression. I try to humanize depression and anxiety a bit by sharing my own story,” says Vivian Nunez (@vivnunez). She is the founder of Too Damn Young (@2damnyoung), a community with the sole purpose of letting any grieving teenager know they are not alone.

“I don’t think there’s ever a moment where you are done with grief, and I’ve always described it this way: Grief is a thing that you learn to walk alongside of, you never leave it behind. But I remember my mom and my grandma now, and I smile.

Writing is a big coping mechanism for me, and it’s a counterbalance. My captions are really long and often heavy in terms of what they’re talking about, but my pictures are really pretty. They remind me how there’s still good in the world, and there are still pretty things in the world even if the day itself was a little bit heavier.”

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3 takeaways from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's new book on grief, 'Option B'

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg was on vacation in Mexico in 2015 with her husband and friends when her husband, tech executive Dave Goldberg, passed away unexpectedly of a cardiac arrhythmia. Sandberg, 47, was left as a single mother of her two children with Goldberg. The book -- which Sandberg co-wrote with her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -- takes its name from a moment when Sandberg was grappling with not having Goldberg on hand to attend a father-child event with one of their children.

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Charles "LaLa" Evans and his wife Louise were together for 59 years and 11 months. Over the course of their marriage they took thousands of photographs together, capturing moments both big and small. When Louise passed away suddenly just one month shy of their 60th anniversary, Charles was determined to honor her memory using those pictures. So he created a museum in the backyard of their Mississippi home dedicated to their lifetime of love.

(From Great Big Story)

Awww... Mr. Evans, Thank you! This love! His grief. His joy!

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Asking someone to “try” not being depressed is tantamount to asking someone who's been shot to try and stop bleeding. Such an attitude can dangerously appear in the Church as, “if only you had enough faith.”

Brandon Peach of Relevant Magazine (Article: 5 Things Christians Should Know About Depression and Anxiety)

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/5-things-christians-should-know-about-depression-and-anxiety#TyAiuedxCxTFtwjS.99

[goodmourningra]

I start my second semester of my second year of grad school tomorrow. I’m about to be extremely busy and challenged like never before. I’m sure the doubts and the fears will find a way to resurrect itself. I used to call my mother before I embarked on this kind of journey. She used to calm my racing heart with encouragement. She would speak so much truth in me that I felt like I could do anything. She pointed me back to God when my faith began to dwindle to the size of a mustard seed. Today, I found my heart racing again. I heard the doubts in my head. I felt the anxiety trying to hold me hostage. And at that moment…I reached for the phone. Almost 9 years since she’s been gone and I still have the same urge to call her. Man…. Man…….

#Griefsucks #InMySolitude #Searsly #missingher #mommasboy #DenineSears #TheGreatSadness #MovingForwardWithHer #TheHealingPart #goodmourningRa #honestyequalsfreedom #ExposingMyWoundsForHealing

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#Searsly #goodmourningRa #DenineSears #HappyBirthdayMa #Grief #Griefsucks #InMySolitude #missingher #mommasboy

Today is my mother’s 51st Birthday. I’m trying to figure out what I’m feeling at this moment. It’s a bit confusing. It’s been 8 years since she’s been gone and I still have the desire to call her. The longing for her to be physically here is still present.

My play is about to open this week. I’m extremely excited, but the experience is bittersweet; she’s not here to watch me do what I love. Yeah, I know she’s always with me, she can see my show (even in heaven), but ain’t nothing like seeing her platinum blond hair, fire engine lipstick, and gigantic hooped earrings accenting her radiant smile in the audience. Ain’t nothing like her tears cascading down her cheeks as she hugs me and tells me how proud she is of me. Ain’t nothing like wiping away her tears and basking in her motherly presence.

That woman was my everything: my best friend, my confidante, my cheerleader, my motivator, my rock, my muse, my protector, my comedienne, my heart. Though she now resides in heaven, ain’t nothing like having her here, on earth, in my corner.

Happy Birthday, Ma! I hope you are dancing among the stars. I’ll look for you in my dreams until the day I’m called to see you face to face again. I love you and I miss you so much. Happy Birthday, Babe!

I love you, Twon

#Searsly #goodmourningRa #DenineSears #HappyBirthdayMa #Grief #Griefsucks #InMySolitude #missingher #mommasboy

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8 years ago, today. Missing her.

#mommasboy #thegreatsadness #Griefsucks

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Happy 79th Birthday, Memaw! I miss you so much! I hate that I can’t surprise you today or hug you. That’s the harsh reality about death. Please promise to meet me in my dreams, so I can hug you there. I love you so much!

#Memaw #Searsly #happybirthdayMemaw #Grief #familyiseverything

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A post shared by Raffeal A. Sears (@raffealsears)

I’m so grateful to God for these videos of my brother! Lol He was going in! #brotherhood #rip #video #silk #beforethrowback

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A post shared by Raffeal A. Sears (@raffealsears)

My little brother. #thatsmile #rip #beforethrowback #brotherhood #grief #jodeci

[goodmourningra]

2 years ago, we lost my baby brother, Dominick Dawon Sears. I still can’t believe it.

I miss you and I will always love you.

#brotherhood #familyiseverything #thegreatsadness #grief #beforeThrowback

[goodmourningra]

Morning! I was debating on sharing this, but I felt the need to encourage those who are longing for their parents who have gone on. So, I woke up this morning after having a dream about Momma and my Paw Paw. The dream was vague; I can’t remember what it was about. I was awaken by me saying, out loud, “Ma.” It was crazy!

I write down all of my dreams about Momma, Memaw, and my brother in Momma’s old notebook. I’ve been writing in it since Momma passed in ‘08. So, I’m looking for a clean sheet to write on….because I wanted to document the dream. As I turned the pages, a folded piece of paper fell out. I opened it and was completely paralyzed with shock. The shock instantly turned into tears. It read, “I love you.”

I’ve always had some sort of “psychic” bond with my mother. She would always know when something was wrong with me without talking to me and I always knew when she was sick and in the hospital. I often felt it. I had the same feeling the day she passed, before being informed.

Seems like Momma is finding ways to keep communication going with me. It is a gift from the Lord. I believe this note, is her way of telling me to keep going, don’t give up. Oh, how I needed this note. God’s timing is simply amazing!

I had no idea, for 7 years, that this message was in this notebook. My mind is blown and my heart is overwhelmed! Just wanted to share this. I hope it encourages those who have lost a mother….your bond with her is unbreakable. Even in Heaven, nothing can stop a mother’s love for her children. This has made my day…hope it blesses yours.

#grieftherapy #grief #amotherslove #messagefromheaven #Godisgood #grateful #missingher #mommasboy #raffealthelionslayer

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First Look! See Legends Cicely Tyson & James Earl Jones in the Broadway Revival of The Gin Game