A Time to Remember
Springtime has historically been a representation of renewal and refresh. The sun is out longer, the skies are brighter, and the fog of winter days start to fade. It’s a time when we clean out all the junk and build-up from the previous year and welcome the newness of Spring.
Being in Minnesota, sometimes we experience unexpected snow showers in the Spring. The changing of the seasons is a process, much like grief itself. For those of us who are navigating a cancer journey or who have lost someone to cancer, these unexpected snow showers can be a reminder of a time when we struggle to face our grief and are reminded by how limited our time with our loved ones truly is.
While navigating the process of grief, honor not only your loved one but yourself. Honor yourself for carrying on when your world has halted and filled with sorrow. Honor your bravery, resilience, vulnerability, and humanity. It is in each of these where love resides.
I want to share a piece of my heart with you that I left in a letter to my mother, Tina, after her transition as a way to heal from what felt like unbearable grief. I hope you can relate and that it helps you find the strength to seek out sunshine every day – even through unexpected snow showers.
Long Live Tina
“Dear Mom,
I miss you will never be enough. It doesn’t capture the depth of connection I had with you or how I feel now that you are no longer in the land of the living. I think of you more now that you’ve transitioned and search for you in everything. I find myself staying in places longer than usual, looking for you. Trying to find you in the ‘I love yous,’ smiling faces of strangers, and the gift of distance laughter. Yet, I still come up short. But I don’t care. I know you exist within those places that most neglect to search. I will search for you as long as there is breath in my body. In every act of kindness. In every smile. On every sunny day. Every wave delivers life to the sea. In every Prince song. In every rainstorm. In every belched laugh. In every tear. In all the still mornings and quiet nights. Failures, achievements, doubts, fears, resilience, and strength. I will always search for you. As long as I live, so do you.”
May each of you have known and loved a Tina in your lifetime. Whether your person is living or transitioning, I hope you honor and love them every day. To honor your loved ones and yourself, I have listed some of Gilda’s upcoming classes and groups to help you in this process.
Gilda’s Club programs to help you honor your loved ones and yourself
- Mindfulness Practice – In-Person with Karen Prunty
- Tuesdays, April 5 & 19, May 3 & 31, June 14 & 28 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
- This class offers guided practices grounded in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, including body awareness, meditation, and gentle movement. There will also be brief discussions on various stress-related topics and guidance on using these practices in day-to-day life.
- Writing Through Cancer: A Writing Workshop Series – In-Person with Steve Buechler
- Thursdays, May 12 – June 2 from 11:00am – 12:30pm
- Writing Through Cancer is a writing workshop series offered every two weeks for a total of four sessions. No prior writing experience is required! The classes will guide participants through hands-on, real-time writing exercises on specified topics. As a participant, you will also have the opportunity to share your writing or reactions to the process. The session topics are “Diagnosis and Initiation to Cancer,” “Treatments and Medical Team,” “Coping Strategies and Support Systems,” and “Outcomes and Resolution.” We encourage you to sign up for all four sessions to help build a cohort of writers throughout the series, but you may also sign up for individual sessions. Past attendees in this workshop are warmly invited to re-enroll in this offering.
- Dying Is Not Giving Up: Watch Party – In-Person in partnership with Firefly Sisterhood
- Tuesday, April 5 from 6:30pm – 8:00pm
- Join us at the clubhouse to watch Dying Is Not Giving Up. In this award-winning documentary, a woman shares her experience from her terminal diagnosis to her final days, revealing simple and impactful opportunities for providers to add compassion and empathy to their practice.
- Living with Cancer Support Groups – In-person
- Mondays from 10:30am – 12:00pm and Tuesdays from 10:30am – 12:00pm
- Living with Cancer Support Groups are for people with any type of cancer, at any stage, who are currently undergoing treatment, living with chronic cancer or recurrence, or choosing no treatment as an option.
- For placement in a Living with Cancer Support Group (virtual or in-person), contact Annie Stone, Manager of Member Path, at Annie.Stone@gildasclubmn.org, 952-767-7625.
Sign up for these upcoming program offerings on our virtual program offerings page and in-person program offerings page, the My Gilda’s Club Minnesota app, or in your class registration account.
With love and gratitude,
Shaunequa James, MSW, LGSW
Program Director
612-227-2147 office | 952-767-7627 direct
10560 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka MN 55305
