Susan, your host, welcomes a recurring guest to today's episode, Allison Perkins. Allison lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband and two sons. She is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), currently working with children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders), and has also worked with adults in Skilled Nursing Facilities. Though professionally she is an SLP, she has always been passionate about writing. She has her own personal blog, HeartSoulStomach, which was created after her mother died in 2013. The blog began as a way for Allison to replicate her mom's recipes and talk about the entire process, though it has evolved into more than just food — namely, her struggles (and victories) with Endometriosis, grieving her parents, and life, in general.

Key Takeaways:

• Allison shares how her grief about the loss of her parents was re-edited when her second son was born; grief has no due date.
• Allison shares how the death of her parents was "the elephant in the room."
• Allison talks about the huge milestones of her grief journey.
• Allison realized one day that she no longer had a mom who could help her be a mom.
• "Sundays at Grandma's" is a book that Allison and her family used to write every Sunday when the family got together. Allison had lost track of that book for four years and "miraculously" found it on Mother's Day.
• Allison shares the precious moment when her 2-year-old son asked about his grandparents' pictures that had always been exposed in the same area of the house, Allison realized she had never talked to her son about them, and the conversation turned out to be heartwarming and emotionally impacting.
• Allison expresses how much would she love to have her mom close to her to be part of their children's childhood.
• Susan and Allison talk about how they wish their loved ones who passed were there to share the everyday struggles that were often underappreciated when they were alive.
• Allison talks about how she honors her mother and dad.
• Allison shares her learned lessons in her grief journey:
• • Grief does not go away but how you approach it changes.
  • Your feelings are always OK.
  • It is OK to ask others for help.

Resources

Tendrilsofgrief.com

Email Susan: [email protected]

Meet Allison Perkins

Check Allison's blog HeartSoulStomach