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 2892- It’s Mah Birthday And I Got a Sign
Today, I am 62 years old. My parents (85 and 86) can’t believe I’m so old. Well, Mom, that’s the way time works. Tonight, we’re having dinner with our neighbors and friends of over two decades, in some cases. We’re going out to a Japanese Hibachi grill. Yesterday, my buddy Tom texted our group that […]
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Day 2881- A Tale of Positive Intelligence: Navigating A Tricky Mother’s Day
Hello there! I have an intriguing story to share that offers a glimpse into how my mind operates and, perhaps, how our minds work in general. Yesterday was Mother’s Day, ripe with promise and potential for joy. Of course, Mother’s Day is complicated when you have a daughter in spirit. It’s a day that is […]
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Day 2752- I’m So Excited
A couple of weeks ago, I hired a business growth consultant. I’m coming up on four years of running Grief 2 Growth. I’ve been splitting my time between two businesses. It’s time to go all in on my passion. It’s scary. But I know it’s the right time. In these four years, I’ve acquired a […]
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Day 2479- Life Itself Is A Risk
Last night I settled in to watch my beloved Bengals take on the Buffalo Bills in a game that could clinch the division for us. I’ve been a Bengals fan for 50 years. This is the first time in about 40 years our team has been any good, making a Super Bowl run last year […]
Keep goingDay 2713- The Agony Of Defeat
It’s a sad day in Buckeye nation. We lost The Game to ❌ichigan yesterday. As if to mock our tears, the skies opened up last night and poured buckets from the sky. On the fourth Saturday of the month, two days after Thanksgiving, Ohio State and The Team Up North (TTUN) strap up and go […]
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Day 2672-Everything Must Go
Well, it’s time. We opened Treasured Locks twenty years ago, this past April. Kayla was five, and Shayna was two years old. The idea was to make enough extra money that we could go out once or twice a month and pay for dinner and a babysitter. I had no idea that Treasured Locks would […]
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Day 2663- Helping Parents Heal Conference
Oh. My. God. It’s Monday morning, August 22, 2022. I’m writing from my bed in the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass in my wannabe hometown, Phoenix, AZ. I first visited the desert nearly 30 years ago. I immediately fell in love. I love hot, dry weather. Phoenix is where I should have been born. This […]
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Day 2657- They Are Trying To Get Your Attention
Because I’m so open about my experiences with the afterlife, people feel free to stop me in the street and ask me if their experience is normal or if they’re going crazy. Every day I walk the same six-mile route. So, I often run into the same people. I’ve gotten to know one of the […]
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Day 2623- Signs From The HPH Conference
This weekend at the Helping Parents Heal conference, Suzanne Giesemann talked about her daughter Susan sending butterflies as a sign. Suzanne opened and closed the meeting. Whenever I hear Suzanne speak, I hope she will mention Shayna because Shayna has dropped in on Suzanne. Shayna was part of a presentation Suzanne gave at the first […]
Keep goingDay 2607- English Family Reunion
Today is the English family reunion in Columbus. My mother’s side of the family has had family reunions, religiously, since I can remember. This year’s comes on what is probably the worst weekend of the year for me. I’m behind on preparing for the Trauma Recovery Summit in October. It’s the most work I’ve ever […]
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Day 2602- A Facebook Memory
One of the things I love most about Facebook is the “today in history” feature, otherwise known as a Facebook memory. Post a picture on Facebook, and on the anniversary of that posting, Facebook will drag it up and put it on your timeline reminding you of what you were doing on this day a […]
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Day 2594- Bad Dancer
This morning I was in the basement packing orders. I had the music cranked up, discovering some new artists as I let Apple Music curate my playlist. I was dancing around and thought about what a terrible dancer I am. I thought about the time I won a dance contest at a club in Miami […]
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Day 2587- Signs & Synchronicities
Lately, there have been a lot of signs and synchronistic events. They’re often very small things. Like a few days ago I was out walking thinking about the dogs I often see along my route. I was thinking of one I used to play with just about every morning. He would come to the door […]
Keep goingMy Dream of Uncle Ronnie
In my dream, I was at some sort of a family event. I thought it was a family reunion. And Uncle Ronnie was there. He was about the age he was when he passed two years ago, in his late 70s. He had his bald shaved head and had the gray beard he had for […]
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