Does time have wings?

Because how has it been five years since my mom, Sharon, suddenly died?

One moment she was fine.The next, we were told she had two weeks left to live.Three days later, she was gone.

Make it make sense.

How does a life end that quickly and yet grief stretch on forever?How can five years feel like five minutes and five lifetimes at the same time?

Today, February 23, is Dead Mom Day.

And today, we honour Sharon.

Grief and Time: Why It Feels So Distorted After Loss

If you have ever lost someone suddenly, you know this truth: grief bends time.

Neuroscience shows us that trauma and intense emotional experiences are encoded differently in the brain. Time stops in moments of shock. Then, somehow, the calendar keeps flipping.

You blink and five years have passed.

You blink and you are still in that hospital room.

Both are true.

When my mom died just after turning 62, my nervous system went into survival mode. And when we are in survival mode, we are not tracking time the way we used to. We are tracking safety. We are tracking meaning. We are tracking how to make it through the next hour.

That is why anniversaries hit the body before they hit the mind.

Your cells remember.

Who My Mom Was

Sharon was pride and work ethic wrapped up in a petite, powerful human.

She was the woman who believed in me when my ideas were big and my bank account was small. She was the one who said, “You’ve got this,” even when I absolutely did not got this.

She loved us fiercely.

She worked hard for decades as a dental hygienist. She showed up. She hustled. She took care of people. She was funny in that dry, subtle way that catches you off guard. She was proud of her daughters. She made sure we knew it.

And then, just like that, she was gone.

No long goodbye.No years to prepare.Just a three-week whirlwind and a silence that still echoes.

Five Years Later: What We Built From the Broken Pieces

Mom, you would be so proud.

From the broken pieces of our life, we built something extraordinary.

We built a global movement.

We created the Navigating Grief Framework to help people move through loss in a structured but flexible way. Because grief is not linear. It never was.

We launched podcasts where people tell the stories they were too scared to tell.

We created books and a social enterprise.

We built a clothing line that reminds people they are resilient.

We have helped millions of people strengthen their resilience muscles.

This idea of the resilience muscle, the invisible muscle that runs through every fiber of our being, was born out of my own devastation. I spoke about it on the TEDx stage , but I learned it in hospital rooms and funeral homes.

I did not bounce back.

I bounced forward.

That is the difference.

How Time Changes Grief

In year one, grief was loud.It screamed. It hijacked. It suffocated.

In year two, it was heavy.It sat beside me at dinner.

In year three, it surprised me.It showed up in grocery stores and sunsets.

In year four, it softened.It became more love than panic.

In year five, it is woven into me.

Grief does not disappear. It integrates.

Time does not heal all wounds.But time gives us space to carry them differently.

Through the Navigating Grief Framework, I teach five pillars:

* Grounding in the present

* Resilience muscle rituals and routines

* Introspection for understanding

* Engagement with support systems

* Forward movement

Five years later, I can see how I have lived each one.

Not perfectly.Not gracefully.But honestly.

Why Anniversaries Matter

Anniversaries are not about reopening wounds.

They are about honouring love.

Dead Mom Day is not just about how she died.It is about how she lived.

It is about the Bank of Sharon.It is about her pride.It is about her stubborn daughters who turned heartbreak into purpose.

When we mark anniversaries, we are telling our nervous systems:This mattered.She mattered.I matter.

And that is powerful.

If You Are Grieving Today

If you are approaching an anniversary and thinking, How has it been this long?

You are not broken.

Your brain and body are doing exactly what they are wired to do.

Here is what I invite you to do today:

* Say their name out loud.

* Share one story about them.

* List three things you are grateful for from the past 24 hours.

* Remind yourself that moving forward does not mean leaving them behind.

Time may have wings.

But love has roots. Deep roots.

Five years later, my mom is not physically here.

But she is in the framework.She is in the movement.She is in the resilience muscle of every person who strengthens theirs.

Today we honour Sharon.

And forever, we keep bouncing forward.

Let’s navigate your grief together,

XX Blair

P.S. If someone you loved died, tell me about them. Say their name. Share it in the comments below and tell me what you loved most about them.

P.P.S. Looking for grief and resilience support? Book a free 30-minute call with me HERE.

Where’s Blair?

Join me, Stacey and Simone this May at the Regulated Retreat.

I’m stoked to be speaking at Regulated, a three-day nervous system reset retreat for people who are done surviving and ready to feel steady again because most of us don’t need more motivation, we need regulation. And that’s what makes this experience different.

This retreat blends nervous system science, movement, nature, and honest conversation to help your body downshift and reset.

I’m honoured to be part of this experience and would love to share it with you!

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