Dear Cathy & Mark, Our beloved 72-year-old father died last June of Covid-19. He was generally healthy otherwise. My four siblings and I are devastated by our loss. Our father loved Christmas and always made it a special time for our family. Two of my siblings suggested that we carry on our family traditions as...
The Christmas holiday season in the Philippines starts in earnest after All Souls’ Day. Gift lists are updated, the holiday-party, vacation and reunion schedules finalized. Weeks prior, the mall and tiangge merchants are already on holiday marketing mode, playing carols to set the mood and reeling in customers with irresistible discount sales. But now is...
In 2010, moved only by a need to find a job (having been unemployed for more than five years), I accepted the position of executive director of a 40-year-old company called United Way Philippines Inc. (UWPI). At first, I thought it was some pharmaceutical or pyramiding firm. It turned out to be a non government...
Dear Cathy and Mark, My boyfriend and I have been together for three years. We officially got together a few months before the pandemic. Thankfully, our love survived it. Recently, he was accepted into a graduate studies program in New York. He will be there for two years. I know we have all the tools...
Dear Cathy & Mark, Our 80-year-old father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago. Around a year and a half ago, our mother died of Covid-19. At the time of her passing, our dad’s Alzheimer’s was diagnosed to be at a moderate level. It has progressed much since. There are days when he asks where...
EDITOR’S NOTE: CoverStory is launching “Two for the Road,” an advice column on life, love, and loss. Cathy is in private practice as a grief, loss, and transitions coach. She is an author of four books, two of them on grief. Mark has been a registered nurse for 47 years and is an educator specializing...
