Tending to Endings (twenty-five)
First, thank you for being here! I am grateful for the small, growing readership and the feedback I’ve received from emails and comments that have let me know that people are finding this project helpful.
My plan for Tending to Endings was to write once a week for a year on topics pertaining to end-of-life matters. Since next week marks the halfway point of 2020, it seems wise to pause to reflect and ask for some input.
There are currently 114 subscribers to Tending to Endings and about another 50 people access it online each week. Given the demands on everyone’s attention these days, I am thrilled people keep returning. Early on I figured as I had a handful of readers, I would keep posting. So, thank you! It is so much less lonely with all of you here!
Not everything has gone as planned. In my first column, I described this as a gentle expedition and I intended on exploring resources in my community like I did when I attended the Death Café early on in the series. Much of the fieldwork has been on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions, and I have often relied instead on reflections from my own experiences alongside links to print and online resources.
I enjoy personal narrative as a form, but of course my own experience is limited. My hope is that I will be able to get out in the field again soon so that I can include more perspectives and voices. If you have ideas you would particularly like to learn about, I’d love to know. I’d also be interested to know which resources you have found helpful.
The platform for commenting is a little clunkier than I hoped. I am interested in hearing more about the comments feature and whether you would like a more active comments section. I am also exploring some ideas for more real-time interaction opportunities through online workshops.
In case you are interested in perusing past installments, I recently added tags to each post so you can more easily find posts on the topics of interest. I will temporarily tag this post with all themes so that you can easily find essays on topics you might have missed. Look for the hashtag (#) followed by this list below at the bottom of the post: Alzheimers, Caregiving, Community, End-of-life Planning, Relationship Work, Spirituality, Story, Talking about Death. Each link will bring you to a collection of posts related to that topic.
Whether you are a new reader or have been following from the beginning, I would love to know your thoughts as I begin planning for posts for the second half of 2020.
Please cut and paste the questions below into an email laura@laurastavoe.com
Write as much or as little as you want to each question below. I would love to have these back by Monday, June 22 but will appreciate them whenever they get here. I will not share your info with anyone.
Please tell me something about yourself and why you read Tending to Endings.
How would you complete the following statements?
- I would like to read more posts on the topic of…
- Some things that would improve Tending to Endings or make it more relevant for me would include…
- One thing I hope will not change about Tending to Endings…
Do you have any thoughts on any of the following?
- Comments Feature
- Links to Resources
- Length of posts
- Photos
- Format and Organization
Would you participate in any of the following options assuming they are offered at a time that worked for you at no cost using an easy-to-learn online conferencing tool?
Please rate your interest with 5 = I can’t wait for this to start!, 3= I might be interested, and 1 = This is not for me. (Feel free to include other thoughts, comments, ideas.)
- An online weekly story circle where participants share their own stories on end-of-life topics. Four meetings. 1.5 hours each. Limit 12 participants.
- An online writing workshop with the focus of writing about endings. Every other week. Four meetings. 2 hours each. Limit 12 participants.
- A once-a-month online book club on books related to end-of-life matters. One 2-hour meeting per month. Limit 20 participants.
Anything else you want me to know?
Thank you so much for reading Tending to Endings and being willing to share your thoughts. Have a beautiful weekend.
In gratitude,
Laura
Please leave your name and email below to receive Tending to Endings each Friday. Tending to Endings is ad free and cost free and I will not share your info. Its aim is to build community and conversation around end-of-life matters.
Hi Laura,
I am reading your posts for two reasons.
1. The information you have been providing has given me what I need to prepare for my own ending, and hopefully ease (as much as I can do such a thing) the things my children will have to navigate through.
2. Your posts have helped me so incredibly much to prepare for my responses to my own parents endings. What it important in the final days, versus what isn’t. How to be present and just love and enjoy my last days with them.
Thank you so very much for your intuition and decision to start something like this.
Thank you, Kimmie! Your response means a lot to me!