Graduation
High School graduation is a mixed blessing for those navigating grief. In my latest Rural Rambling, I share en excerpt from my book Now What? Navigating Life After Loss where I look back at 6/6/96. The first big milestone sans mom. Chapter 4: The Waterfall Two months after my mom died, I found myself standing […]
Launch Day
https://youtu.be/ECBTraJG8V0 Book Launch Day is finally here. April 6 will always be the day mom died. But, today is about more than what I’ve lost. It is also about what I’ve gained. So much of who I am, is because of what I’ve lost. It is a huge part of who I am – and […]
Pre-Orders Now Available
My advanced copies of my book Now What? Navigating Life After Loss arrived last week. At first, I couldn’t open the box. When I did, I was struck with panic. Then fear. And finally, a moment of relief. I started this story nearly 27-years ago when I lost my mom. Over and over again I’ve attempted to […]
Finitude
Finitude: The state of having a limit or end. That word has been weighing heavily on me the past few weeks. The Universe not so kindly reminded me that our time here on Earth is finite when she took a coworker much too young from my world. Today we said goodbye to her with a […]
Writing Truths
Things are getting real. A few months ago, I participated in a free writing workshop. This led to me joining a writing group that provides insight, coursework and assistance in writing a book. There’s also a contest in which you can submit a book proposal. I don’t anticipate winning but I do hope to receive […]
Call Your Shot
I’ve been a bit MIA lately, but for good reason. Last year, I spent a lot of time doing what is known as productive procastination. This year, I called my shot and am busy picking away at it… one painful word at a time. This past month I dug deep and committed to writing my […]
The Missing Piece
It took 16-months of a global pandemic before I finally sat down and did a puzzle. About 95% of the way into it, I discovered a piece was missing. It didn’t matter. I was committed to finishing, missing pieces and all. Like I’ve said before, there’s a fine line between stubborn and stupid. Plugging away […]
The Reckoning
Your wings were ready. My heart was not. This quote popped up in my Pinterest feed last night buried between recipes about homemade chicken pot pies, Christmas appetizers and running exercises. I’m working on a book about grief so I imagine there’s some logical algorithm explanation for this moment of clarity that literally scrolled in […]
Grief and Gardening
This month, an essay I wrote about dad and gardening was published in Northern Gardener magazine. You can catch a glimpse of it here. It was shortened a bit since in typical Probst fashion, I was a bit wordy – so the full version continues on below. I learned a lot from my garden […]
When all you have is words…
The decision was made in an instant but years in the making. “I love you girls but I cannot keep fighting. Please don’t be mad.” A glance at the nurse and a plea. “Please. I just want to go in peace.” Suddenly we are out of time. After years of ups and downs navigating a […]