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For grieving families, addiction can be another loss
When lost in the depths of grief it can seem impossible to go on, to get through another day let alone the next hour. Even the next five minutes. Somehow we have to push through, to keep going, to manage. We have to cope. Somehow. There are many things we can do to...
Your Walk Your Way: Steps for Life in Japan
6250: that's the number of steps on average an adult would take in a five-km walk. My granddaughter who is two, takes about three steps to every one of my strides – she is a very busy little girl and 'walking' involves lots of running and side-steps. This year my...
Six lessons from an old dog
He came to us when he was six months old. He needed a farm home because as a mostly border collie, he was steadily shredding the downtown city home where he lived. Now he’s 14, and it’s hard to remember a time pre-Riley. In the past few months we’ve been forced to...
Putting grief on hold
The following post is an excerpt from an interview Threads of Life member Maryanne Pope did with Rebecca Orr. Rebecca’s husband, Lance, was working as a rigger on a construction site, and was killed on the job while Rebecca was expecting their daughter, Caitlin....
“I cherish those moments”
Just a couple of weeks after this year’s Steps for Life walk in Sarnia, a worker at a local business was killed on the job. For Mark Roehler, chairman of the Sarnia walk committee, it was a sad reminder of why the walk – and the work of the volunteers – is so...
Miss you, Dad
Remembering relationships cut short by workplace tragedy The connection between a father and daughter can be a very special one. The connection evolves and matures through the years, but even when she is a fully independent adult, somehow a daughter is still “Daddy’s...
Monday mornings are a fresh start for health and safety
My company policy, like many, states Monday mornings are orientations for all new staff hired on that week. Monday mornings are a day to build anew, refresh, and reiterate the importance of working safely. Monday mornings are the beginning of a strong foundation of a...
Each in their own time will be the right time
When is the best time for people to benefit from Threads of Life’s programs following a work-related death, serious injury or disease diagnosis? Threads of Life does not contact families directly. Instead we believe that families need to determine for themselves when they are ready to reach out to us. Some will search and find us in the immediate hours or days following their tragedy and others will connect after two, three or more years. There is no single “right time”. That is as unique as the experience of grief. We have learned that each in his or her own time will be what is best for them. There is no hard and fast rule nor is there a time limit when Threads of Life feels anyone is no longer eligible for support and connection. The heart does not follow the tick of time. Grief is a powerful journey and when family members feel ready to contact us we will be here.
Family Forum: Part of a very extended family
On March 10th, 2008 we lost our son Jeffrey in a workplace accident. For the next couple of years I was existing in a very dark world. I felt lost and so full of guilt. One evening while watching the evening news something caught my attention. It was the news brief for the Steps for Life walk. I listened to what it was and what it represented and I was captivated by it.
Let Evening Come
In her blog Heart Poems, counselling therapist Jan Falls shares poems that have touched her deeply. She writes “A gift is meant to be shared, given away to the larger world. These [poems] are gifts I have received that I want to pass on to you. Sometimes doors open...
Look at the difference you made!
All year we’ve been saying that ‘one’ can make a difference: one volunteer, one walker, one fundraiser, one sponsor. Of course everyone knows that when we put a whole bunch of ‘ones’ together, that impact grows by huge steps. You could call those “Steps for Life”!...
It’s Never Me
Three today but that’s not meNo need to worry, it’s never meThey should do more, can’t they seeEven I know that and it’s never me If it’s going to stop it will be by weIt can’t just be them; this includes meBe the change we hope to seeEven I know that; I’m part of we...
