Dead is Dead: Euphemism and the Power of Words

So...this happened last month: https://youtu.be/UUqr4P7P3gM
(You have to click over to help increase my "views" on YouTube!)

There have been so many things that this blog has allowed me to say, and so many ways that it has allowed me to write and teach about the lessons that I've learned throughout all of this. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm pushing the envelope just a little too far as I talk about grief and the way that it is impacting my family.

It was such an honor to be invited to speak at the TEDx event at Abilene Christian University last month. In case you're not familiar with TEDx, it's an off-shoot of TED, a global series of talks featuring "ideas worth spreading." I thought a lot about what I wanted to say, what ideas I had that were "worth spreading," and while I had a lot to say about a lot of topics (um, under-funding for pediatric cancer research, anyone?), I had to think of what I could talk about that wouldn't cause me to break down in tears on the TEDx stage.

And so I chose to speak about euphemisms, phrases that I've tried to avoid using here on this blog and when talking to my kids. Obviously, it's caused us a few headache-y conversations, with Solly in particular, but I think that overall, it's been right for us.

I think Sam would have been proud of me.