Where Did My Sweet Grandma Go? by Lauren Flake

she was able to sort of walk me through, ‘Well, this is what happened to my mom towards the end,’ so that it wouldn’t be a complete shock to me, and I could start to emotionally prepare for that.” And that was part of the beauty of my friendship. “There’s a lot of fear in what we don’t know. And the product of my writing is that I’m able to connect with others and their own pain.” Because in writing, I feel like that’s when I am really communing with the Holy Spirit.

makes it easier to connect with other people in space.” – Lauren Flake I hope you’ll settle in, listen with an open heart, and learn how we can offer hospitality during the more difficult seasons of life. We don’t always know exactly what to say or what to do, and my conversation with Lauren just scratches the surface on ways that we can show up and be present in our neighbors’ lives. This is an important conversation: when we do life with one another and truly live in community, hard times are inevitable. It’s a beautiful example of how we can use the Turquoise Table for all kinds of reasons and seasons. Lauren also shares about a recent gathering that she hosted at her Turquoise Table around Mother’s Day called “Motherless Daughters.” It was for women who, she says, are in the club no one wants to be in: they’ve all lost their mothers. How to just show up, and what that looks like. Lauren gives us first-hand advice on how not to fix it-since there’s no fix for Alzheimer’s or, really, for grief in general-but how to simply be present for a friend or a neighbor. I’m touched by Lauren’s willingness to share her story and walk us through what community looked like for her during that time and during the grieving process. Lauren knows loss, and she shares her tender and painful story of losing her mother, Dixie, to early Alzheimer’s Disease. Lauren lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband Travis and their two young daughters Samantha and Charlotte. Lauren is an author and blogger, and she is co-founder of the community called Daughters With Dementia. Lauren Flake is a member of our Turquoise Table community, and she uses her Turquoise Table in a special way that I am eager to share with you. She gives us first-hand advice on how not to fix the problem, but how to show up to simply be present with those who are grieving. Today Lauren shares her story and walks us through what community looked like for her during and after her mother’s illness. Lauren has been using her table in powerful, special ways since she lost her mother Dixie to early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

Description : Lauren Flake is an author and blogger from Austin, TX, and a member of our Turquoise Table community.

Where Did My Sweet Grandma Go? by Lauren Flake