By Sherrie Cassel It’s so hard to not ruminate on the days leading up to Rikki’s death, when he was so sick and weak – and I was terrified. I try to not think about those things as the anniversary, the tenth, approaches. I just found myself doubled over in pain as a memory piercedContinue reading “One Tin Soldier”
Tag Archives: writing
As stone is to flint
By Sherrie Cassel As my older brother riffled through our dead mother’s belongings, I sat and waited for his assault on my mother’s last belongings to be over. Her calendar of her days, when each of her children visited or she spoke with us on the phone were priceless items I could not part withContinue reading “As stone is to flint”
Wrapping it up
By Sherrie Cassel 24 days from today, I will navigate the tenth anniversary of my son’s passing: it’s a biggie. I’m not making light of it, trust me; for some reason, this one hits harder than even the first two anniversaries. I believe I was numb for the first two years, and then … IContinue reading “Wrapping it up”
With no particular place to go
By Sherrie Cassel 3 a.m. musings – and I’m wide awake, ruminating on craziness, on the rollercoaster of a 63-year-old life. I’m pushing Medicare age, and, yes, I’m hoping that in the two years I have until I’m “there”, there will still be Medicare. We’ll see. Health insurance, Covered California, while not ideal, is alsoContinue reading “With no particular place to go”
Is it necessary to forgive — even posthumously?
By Sherrie Cassel Mom would be eighty-four today. I miss her so very much. We drove each other crazy — often; this is common in dysfunctional families, but…we loved each other fiercely; it’s called trauma bonding. Mom always liked to be the first person to call each of her children on his or her respectiveContinue reading “Is it necessary to forgive — even posthumously?”
Druthers
By Sherrie Cassel I hear it; it tinkles like ice in your glass, like broken glass. The sound of shattering people is the earworm that makes me wish I were deaf. ******** Ah, but then … who will hold the sound of our dissonant collaboration, and for how long? ******** Some stories don’t need toContinue reading “Druthers”
Busking Joy
By Sherrie Cassel There’s too much racket – here. The swamp cooler whirs. The cats meow their grand entrance on the scene, and the goddamned crows caw, interrupting my reverie. It’s just too damn loud this morning, In my head. Sometimes I need the noise; it drowns out the screams of a grieving mother, notContinue reading “Busking Joy”
Unmuting the Muse
By Sherrie Cassel In The Artist’s Way, the author recommends writing three pages a day, or painting, or singing, or going on a meditative walk with yourself. I know for those of us who are really bad at self-care, trying any of these exercises is excruciatingly difficult, and our self-care is neglected to the pointContinue reading “Unmuting the Muse”
Trippin’
By Sherrie Cassel Trippin’ By Sherrie Cassel May 20, 2025, graduation day, a hard-earned day, a lifetime of stories and struggles, and here it was, the big day. I had worked decades to be there among Ph.D. graduates and other Masters graduates. We were a small graduating class at our seminary. There were twenty-two totalContinue reading “Trippin’”
Desert Perspective
By Sherrie Cassel Funny what we remember. Sometimes we remember things to the minutest detail and other times we miss the elephant in the room, no matter how many times we ram into its tusks. I’m listening to the Eagles, “Take it Easy”, and about the band’s time in Winslow, AZ. I’m not aware ofContinue reading “Desert Perspective”
Grief to Gratitude 