Dearest Stephanie, thank you for sharing the beautiful and simple wisdom born of your current experience and your life. Every day we live we should remember that we are only very fleetingly here and to leave as much love as we can behind everywhere and to do everything with love. The every day frustrations and worries make us forget this profoundly important edict. I’m guilty of yelling at my kids mostly out of fatigue and weariness when what I really want to be saying to them and showing to them is I love you. ❤️ Thank you Stephanie for sharing. Sending you love and prayers. In the end we are all in God’s hands and are fleeting star dust with just a moment here on Earth to love. We mustn’t waste that moment. Love, Sally xoxo
Dearest Sally, I somehow missed this gorgeous comment! Your words are so touching, and I’m deeply grateful for your reflections. It’s so easy for the day-to-day frustrations to cloud what truly matters, isn’t it? We’re all guilty of forgetting, especially when daily fatigue takes over. The beauty of our fleeting time here is that we’re always given new moments to return to love, to soften into it even in the midst of exhaustion. Your love for your amazing girls shines through! Thank you for your prayers and love—I’m sending so much of both back to you. We are indeed fleeting stardust, here for a brief and precious time to love. Sending so much love right back at you! Stephanie ✨❤️
Dear Stephanie, you’ve been on my mind recently and boom, I stumbled on your exquisite substack tonight. Floored, but not surprised, by your beautiful words and wisdom. Wishing you continued love, joy, strength, and adventures. You and Adrian are an inspiration; profound thanks for sharing your journey. ❤️Andrea W.
Dear Andrea, your message touched me deeply. Thank you for your beautiful words and for thinking of me. It means the world to know that our journey resonates with you. I’m grateful for your kindness and support as we continue to navigate this wild and meaningful adventure. Sending love and warmth your way. ❤️ Stephanie
Hello dearest SKA. Thank you 🙏🏽 in this piece I am sensing a clarity, a precision, a certainty shall we say that I have not felt so strongly yet emanating from you. Your voice is loud - but differently loud. There is a deeper resonance to it. A power that is round and kind and so loving. I just wanted to reflect this to you so that you are aware what “we” - me? - are/is receiving. 💚🪷
Hello dearest Bela, your message moved me beyond words. Thank you for seeing me so clearly and reflecting that back with such love. Navigating this journey has been full of uncertainty, but knowing that my voice is resonating in a new way gives me strength and fresh inspiration. It’s truly a gift to know that this clarity and depth are reaching those I care about. I’m deeply grateful to have you in my life, especially for your encouragement from the very beginning when I was hesitant to step into this new form of writing. Sending you all my love and gratitude. 💚🪷 Stephanie
My mom was diagnosed June 2022 with stage four intrahepatic cholangio. I unlike your son do not feel ready do not feel like I can go on do not feel like I’d even want to exist in a world where she isn’t a phone call away or my first hug when something goes wrong or well. She’s my whole world and my soul shatters each day that she declines. How do you advise I attempt to learn to be like your son. Survival without her feels impossible and even the thought hurts so deeply it takes my breath away
Dear Rachael, I am deeply sorry to hear about your mother’s diagnosis with this brutal disease. Having lost my own mother to pancreatic cancer not very long ago, I share in your sense of loss and feel the depths of your despair. The intention behind my essay was not to suggest that my son, or anyone for that matter, is ever ready to face such an insurmountable loss. Instead, it was to share how I, as a mother, am trying to equip him with the tools he might need and to seize every moment we have together for love, shared experience, and connection with nature and spirit.
I can’t predict how these experiences will shape Adrian in the future, but my hope is that they will forge within him a resilience and a perspective that will enable him to grieve when we are inevitably parted on the physical plane. Providing our children with the foundation to face life’s challenges is perhaps the most significant legacy we can leave behind.
I know it’s hard, but I urge you to cherish and maximize the time you have with your mother. Let the love you share fill these days, regardless of their number. Taking solace in the fact that you’ve made the most of every moment together, engaged in activities that bring joy and learning, is the best counsel I can offer as both a mother and a daughter.
My heart goes out to you and your mother as you navigate through this heart-wrenching time. Remember, while life is fraught with change and loss, the bond of love remains a transcendent connection that can endure beyond the confines of time, space, and existence.
Dearest Stephanie, thank you for sharing the beautiful and simple wisdom born of your current experience and your life. Every day we live we should remember that we are only very fleetingly here and to leave as much love as we can behind everywhere and to do everything with love. The every day frustrations and worries make us forget this profoundly important edict. I’m guilty of yelling at my kids mostly out of fatigue and weariness when what I really want to be saying to them and showing to them is I love you. ❤️ Thank you Stephanie for sharing. Sending you love and prayers. In the end we are all in God’s hands and are fleeting star dust with just a moment here on Earth to love. We mustn’t waste that moment. Love, Sally xoxo
Dearest Sally, I somehow missed this gorgeous comment! Your words are so touching, and I’m deeply grateful for your reflections. It’s so easy for the day-to-day frustrations to cloud what truly matters, isn’t it? We’re all guilty of forgetting, especially when daily fatigue takes over. The beauty of our fleeting time here is that we’re always given new moments to return to love, to soften into it even in the midst of exhaustion. Your love for your amazing girls shines through! Thank you for your prayers and love—I’m sending so much of both back to you. We are indeed fleeting stardust, here for a brief and precious time to love. Sending so much love right back at you! Stephanie ✨❤️
Gorgeous and important writing and wisdom. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to read. It means a lot to me!
Dear Stephanie, you’ve been on my mind recently and boom, I stumbled on your exquisite substack tonight. Floored, but not surprised, by your beautiful words and wisdom. Wishing you continued love, joy, strength, and adventures. You and Adrian are an inspiration; profound thanks for sharing your journey. ❤️Andrea W.
Dear Andrea, your message touched me deeply. Thank you for your beautiful words and for thinking of me. It means the world to know that our journey resonates with you. I’m grateful for your kindness and support as we continue to navigate this wild and meaningful adventure. Sending love and warmth your way. ❤️ Stephanie
Hello dearest SKA. Thank you 🙏🏽 in this piece I am sensing a clarity, a precision, a certainty shall we say that I have not felt so strongly yet emanating from you. Your voice is loud - but differently loud. There is a deeper resonance to it. A power that is round and kind and so loving. I just wanted to reflect this to you so that you are aware what “we” - me? - are/is receiving. 💚🪷
Hello dearest Bela, your message moved me beyond words. Thank you for seeing me so clearly and reflecting that back with such love. Navigating this journey has been full of uncertainty, but knowing that my voice is resonating in a new way gives me strength and fresh inspiration. It’s truly a gift to know that this clarity and depth are reaching those I care about. I’m deeply grateful to have you in my life, especially for your encouragement from the very beginning when I was hesitant to step into this new form of writing. Sending you all my love and gratitude. 💚🪷 Stephanie
My mom was diagnosed June 2022 with stage four intrahepatic cholangio. I unlike your son do not feel ready do not feel like I can go on do not feel like I’d even want to exist in a world where she isn’t a phone call away or my first hug when something goes wrong or well. She’s my whole world and my soul shatters each day that she declines. How do you advise I attempt to learn to be like your son. Survival without her feels impossible and even the thought hurts so deeply it takes my breath away
Dear Rachael, I am deeply sorry to hear about your mother’s diagnosis with this brutal disease. Having lost my own mother to pancreatic cancer not very long ago, I share in your sense of loss and feel the depths of your despair. The intention behind my essay was not to suggest that my son, or anyone for that matter, is ever ready to face such an insurmountable loss. Instead, it was to share how I, as a mother, am trying to equip him with the tools he might need and to seize every moment we have together for love, shared experience, and connection with nature and spirit.
I can’t predict how these experiences will shape Adrian in the future, but my hope is that they will forge within him a resilience and a perspective that will enable him to grieve when we are inevitably parted on the physical plane. Providing our children with the foundation to face life’s challenges is perhaps the most significant legacy we can leave behind.
I know it’s hard, but I urge you to cherish and maximize the time you have with your mother. Let the love you share fill these days, regardless of their number. Taking solace in the fact that you’ve made the most of every moment together, engaged in activities that bring joy and learning, is the best counsel I can offer as both a mother and a daughter.
My heart goes out to you and your mother as you navigate through this heart-wrenching time. Remember, while life is fraught with change and loss, the bond of love remains a transcendent connection that can endure beyond the confines of time, space, and existence.