When somebody we know loses a loved one, or when we ourselves encounter the pain of loss, sometimes there really are no words to express how we feel. We may find ourselves grasping for just the right thing to say, and sometimes, even when we have the best intentions at heart, we often still end up saying the wrong thing or we end up not saying anyt

I was at Wal-Mart with my one and a half year old granddaughter and her two and a half year old brother. Without any warning my granddaughter started smiling and waving while saying hello to everyone we walked passed. No one seemed to notice her eager greetings, as if her little welcoming voice wasn't enough to pull them out of their busy schedul

However little you think you may have, making a will is as important as if you were wealthy. And your current state of health, however good, is not a reason for putting it off. If you have no property or savings to leave to your next of kin, would you necessarily want to leave them with your debts and problems? Of course not. There are decisions

One of the most difficult cards to send to a family or friend is a sympathy card. Why? Because if you are like us, you have many mixed feeling on what is truly appropriate for the situation. But never underestimate the powerful message you convey by just sending a card at a time of grief. While many ask that donations be given in lieu of flowe

If home is where the heart is, so also dwells there a place for healing the grief and anguish of losing a child or any loved one. All we need do is step inside our heart by means of a heart-centered meditation. The heart isn't only a physical organ or merely an intellectual concept. The heart is the very center of our self-awareness--our cons

This was not a typical get-back-in-touch letter from a business associate who moved out of town some years ago. Instead, a mother wrote about the quiet death of her five-week-old daughter in the child's car seat. It happened on the way to the home of baby's grandparents, where the extended family was anticipating the arrival. What should have b

The caramel-colored corgi spotted me walking toward the city-run recreation center. Out for a walk with his person, the little dog stopped in his tracks and fixed me in his gaze. The woman on the end of his leash tried to move him along, but he wouldn't budge. He stood his ground, waiting for me to approach him. I bent down and opened my palm fo

The number one rule of saving for retirement is to begin saving immediately. Be sure to talk with someone in your company about the pros and cons of borrowing from your retirement funds. Following this simple guideline will hopefully help you reach your retirement goals at a decent age. Retirement is to be realized some day. With baby boomers re

Cremation is an alternative to the traditional funeral service. With cremation you have many options that you might not be aware of that can help your family through the hard process of losing a loved one. You can choose to hold a memorial cremation service with your local funeral home this way everyone can come together to say goodbye to the lo

Making a will means different things to different people in different countries. In the UK, there is still a huge rich/poor divide. At the lower end of the income scale people very rarely concern themselves with making a will, although it is important for everyone to consider. Even if you have no worldly goods to leave, there will still be things t

For the rich and famous who can be a little indecisive when will writing, some of the richer celebrities may be making headway in what to do with their millions when they die. One New York billionaires who once said 'only the little people pay taxes' has taken charge of what happens to her dollars when she dies by leaving it all to dogs. Her fam

Elma died last Friday and today we went to the funeral. There were a good number of people in the church but most of them in their eighties. Elma had a lot of friends. There were some tears and some sniffling but mostly there were smiles and warm greetings. Elma left little in terms of material possessions but she left a full story and lived a

Look into most UK laws and you will find origins dating back to Roman times. They may well have invaded our country but they bought with them many benefits, being way ahead of their times in matters of order and rights. They can be held pretty much responsible for many laws governing making a will also. Many countries had no propensity to enforc

After over 13 years working a nurse I had witnessed some weird and wonderful things. Occasionally, one of them stands out as significant. Back in '97-'98 I went to Australia with a one year working visa. During this time I worked for nurse agencies in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The experience was a good one as I was able to see how another health

"Donna" was trapped in an agony of indecision. Her eight-year marriage to a man older than she, of another ationality, culture, and religion, had never been easy. Now it was threatening to founder on the rocky shoals of severe financial strain and quarrels over in-laws. At age 29, she already had one child, a daughter nearly three years old.