This blog is dedicated to my beautiful daughter, Shayna Elayne Smith, who passed from this world in June 2015.
Shayna continues to guide, inspire, push, and prod me. She has shown me signs of her continued and remains a daily presence in my life.
She is my inspiration for the work I do.
Day 2504- Keeping Focused On The Pain
Pain is one of life’s mysteries. Our bodies have evolved to give us this sensation, which we will avoid at all costs. Pain is a warning. It tells us to remove our hands from the hot stove. In fact, our nervous system is built so that you will withdraw your hand before your brain has […]
Keep going
Day 2465- Glorious
When I’m searching for a title for my posts, more often than not what comes to mind is a song title. If you’ve ever seen Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, you have some idea of how my mind works. A thought comes up, followed by a song. Thanks to the magic of Apple Music, I can now […]
Keep going
Wordle Magic
My friend, Carolyn Clapper, isn’t just your ordinary medium or medical medium even. Carolyn is off-the-charts good at mediumship and figuring out medical ailments in others. A newly discovered talent is Carolyn can communicate with Shayna to figure out the word of the day in Wordle. It’s not exactly a practical ability. But, for me, […]
Keep going
Day 2461- I Will Not Be Like A Typical Teenager
We started Treasured Locks when Shayna was two years old. The girls were the inspiration for the business and both worked for us, for a while. Shayna loved leaving little notes for us all over. She would sneak into my office and write notes to me in my notebooks I used for jotting down notes […]
Keep going
Day 2444- Mediumship Experiences
People often ask me if mediumship is real. I’ve had enough experiences to know it absolutely is. I always say there are a few classes of mediums: There are great mediums, good mediums, medium mediums, bad mediums, and (of course) fake mediums. Just this week, I sat in a test sitting with a medium that […]
Keep goingDay 2433- 100,000 Downloads
It’s day 2433 since Shayna passed away. Just about 1,000 days ago I launched the Grief 2 Growth Podcast. I started on a free platform and switched over to a more professional platform at the end of 2019. When I switched, I had about 5,00o downloads that didn’t transfer over. Just a few days ago, […]
Keep going
Day 2371- Winter Solstice Reflections
Today is December 20, 2021. It’s been a heckuva year. It’s been a brutal two years. We are going into year three of living with COVID-19, named after the year 2019 when it was discovered. Omicron is on the rise having gone from a whisper a couple of weeks ago to 70% of the cases […]
Keep going
Day 2317- In The Dark
It’s October 28th, three days from Halloween. The leaves are turning. The days are growing short. There is a chill in the air. I’ve put away the shorts and t-shirts. It’s long sleeves and jeans for a few months. This is the time of year when I struggled in the past. I hate the cold. […]
Keep going
Day 2260- Kayla Crosses (A) Finish Line
Twenty years. For the first time in twenty years, we don’t have a child going back to school this fall. It all started with Kayla starting school just before she turned five years old. In April, she received her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Cincinnati (UC). We thought her educational journey […]
Keep going
Day 2241- Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This
It’s Friday! Friday is supposed to be a good day, the end of the week, the beginning of the weekend. But, today is hitting me as a glass half full day. Today is also Friday the 13th (of August). I take my walk for an hour and forty minutes. A walk is always a great […]
Keep going
Day 2139- May Is Mental Health Month
19 years ago Kayla started school. We were just launching Treasured Locks, inspired by the need to find good products for the girls’ hair. Shayna was only two years old. So much has changed in those 19 years. Shayna passed six years ago, just after Kayla finished her first year of college. We thought Kayla […]
Keep going
I Ain’t No Ways Tired
A couple of days ago my cousin made a Facebook post titled “I Ain’t No Ways Tired” the title of an old Negro spiritual. I replied, “Yes, I am tired.” This was the day after the verdict in the murder of George Floyd and the day after an officer shot and killed a 16-year-old Black […]
Keep going
Two Worlds Collide
Please forgive any errors from the transcription software. I just wanted to get this down and don’t have a lot of time to spend cleaning it up. Brian Smith 0:01 Hey there, I wanted to document something happened. I want to start last week I’m recording this on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. So last week […]
Keep going
Day 2065- Uncle Ronnie
Today marks the end of an era. I got word yesterday afternoon that Uncle Ronnie had made his transition. For a couple of weeks, I knew the call would be coming. Uncle Ronnie is one of those men who are larger, than life. He was a legend in his own lifetime. He could spin a […]
Keep going
Day 2044- The New New Normal
The saying goes, “ The only thing constant in life is change.” Here we go again. Four days ago my wife took a full-time job. This is the first time she’s worked full-time out of the house since Kyle was born over twenty-four years ago. I think of the days when the house was full. […]
Keep going