YouAreEnough

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send birthday wishes, make a phone call, leave a message, or reach out yesterday. Your kindness meant more than I can express.

The day was peaceful. Just what the doctor ordered.

I spent the afternoon on an amazing hike, enjoyed a quiet dinner at home with my family, welcomed a few friends who stopped by, and finished the evening with vanilla cake with pink icing from Loblaws. Maggie thoroughly enjoyed her steak, which may have been the highlight of my day.

If you missed my birthday reflection from yesterday, you can read it here: https://wheredidmommyssmilego.com/2026/06/23/freedom-55/

What could be better?

Hearing from so many people always makes a birthday feel extra special. But each time my phone rang, a text arrived, or a message appeared on social media, I was reminded of something I had been trying not to think about.

For the first time, I would not be hearing from my mom.

There would be no enthusiastic “Happy Birthday, dear.” No eye-rolling twenty questions. No long conversation that somehow covered everything and nothing at the same time. No “I love you” before hanging up.

The night before, I dreamt it all happened exactly as it always had. The phone rang. I heard her voice. For a brief moment, everything felt normal. Waking up was a jolt back to reality.

The day itself was perfect. Peaceful. Full of love.

And yet grief was there too.

I am learning that grief rarely waits its turn. It sits beside joy. It shows up in the middle of celebrations. It finds its way into the happiest moments and gently reminds us of who is missing.

As I navigate the difficult days ahead with Maggie, whose illness continues to take a toll on her aging body, and as I adjust to a world where my mother’s number will never again appear on my phone, I am reminded that love and loss are forever intertwined.

Yesterday, I felt both.

I felt deeply loved by those who reached out, and I felt the ache of those I wish could have.

Thank you for helping make my birthday so special. Your messages, calls, and kindness carried me through a day that was both beautiful and bittersweet.

#birthdays #bittersweet #grief #family #love

Today is my birthday. I turned 55. Officially old enough now for the 20% Senior’s Day discounts at Shoppers Drug Mart!

The past few days have been really hard, with a lot weighing on both my mind, and especially my heart.

So today, I’m keeping things simple and doing what I love most.

Rich and I are spending the week trying to enjoy a much-needed staycation, staying close to home and close to Maggie. After two years of battling illness, her tiny body is growing tired, and watching her decline, especially over these past few days has been heartbreaking beyond words for all of us.

Today, with both girls working from home, Rich and I headed out for a few hours to chase waterfalls, hike a beautiful trail, and soak in some much-needed fresh air and peace. Later, I’ll be sharing a quiet dinner with Rich and my kids at home, and honestly, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate. And of course, Maggie will be included in the festivities with a little steak, one of her favourite treats. Sorry Sadie, your mommy said no steak for you!

Birthdays have become quite overwhelming for me for many years now, but age has never really factored in to it. To be honest, my mental health struggles over the past 12 years never made it feel possible to reach this milestone. But here I am. Still standing. Still fighting, every single day.

Today, I’m reminded that life isn’t measured by the years we count, but by the people and pets we love, the memories we make, and the moments we share.

My heart is a little heavy today, but it’s also full.

Full of love.
Full of gratitude.
Full of appreciation for family, friends, nature, and every precious moment we have together.

Today, 55 feels like a gift I’m holding tight❤️.

#mybirthday #summerofrich #freedomfiftyfive #myheart #family #mentalhealth

Thank you for being the steady hand, the family chef and BBQ master, and the dad who is always there when it matters most.

Our kids are so lucky to have a dad who loves them fiercely, supports them endlessly, and somehow survives all the chaos we throw your way.

Thank you for the countless things you do behind the scenes that keep our family running and for all the ways you go above and beyond for us every day. ❤

We love you to the moon and back, forever and a day, and appreciate you more than you know, Maggie (and now Sadie), too.

P.S. We promise to let you think you’re in charge today 😉.

#fathersday #family #familymatters #happyfathersday #everyoneneedsarich #summerofrich #mentalhealth

We weren’t quite sure how Maggie would take to Sadie. After all, she’s been the queen of her castle for the past 15 years, and has never been known for wanting to share her throne with any other four- legged creatures.

But just two days in, something special happened. Maggie seems to have come to terms with the fact that Sadie isn’t going anywhere and curled up beside her on the couch, settling onto her favourite blanket as if to say, “Fine… you can stay.”

It’s a small moment, but one that melted our hearts.

We’re not saying they’re best friends yet. We’re just saying nobody got evicted from the couch!!

And for now, we’ll call that a win. ❤️🐾

#smallwins #adogspurpose #favouriteblanket #ourhearts #mentalhealth

Happy Gotcha Day and welcome to your furever family, Sadie! 🐾❤️

Today, Rich, Hannah, Rachel, and I spent nearly four hours on the road to bring this sweet little girl into our lives, and it was worth every minute.

While Sadie is officially Rachel’s puppy, we all get the joy of loving her, spoiling her, and soaking up those irresistible puppy cuddles and kisses. Somehow, Rachel getting a puppy has also promoted Rich and me to Grandpup parents, a title we’re more than happy to accept!

We’re excited to watch Sadie grow and become part of our family. As for Maggie… after 15 years as the undisputed princess and queen of the castle, she’s still deciding how she feels about this new annoyance in her life. But don’t you worry Maggie because your throne is safe. Nobody could ever replace you. Love doesn’t work that way. We don’t replace; we simply make room for more.

There’s no arguing that there is something truly healing about a puppy. The joy, the shenanigans, the companionship, and the unconditional love they bring into our lives. I have always believed that dogs have a special purpose; to remind us how to love unconditionally, find joy in the simplest moments, and to be fully present. Their companionship can be deeply therapeutic, bringing comfort on the difficult days and making the good days even brighter. I have a feeling Sadie is arriving at just the right time in our lives and will be a perfect addition to our family.

Sadie, whose name Rachel and Hannah chose together already feels meaningful. Sadie means “princess” and is derived from the Hebrew name Sarah. A beautiful name for a beautiful little princess.

I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sadie and Maggie’s birthdays are only two days apart. And that she has the same pretty blue eyes as her Uncle Jacob and Grandpup Rich! Maybe some things are just meant to be.

Welcome, sweet Sadie. We can’t wait to make memories with you. ❤️

#gotchaday #welcome #sadie #fureverhome #mentalhealth

I attended the unveiling of my dear uncle today.

An unveiling is a Jewish custom in which family and friends gather at a gravesite to formally dedicate a newly placed headstone. Typically held within the first year following a loved one’s passing, the ceremony includes prayers, shared memories, and the removal of a cloth covering the monument.

Standing at his graveside, I listened as loved ones shared stories and memories. For me, my strongest memories are of his creativity and wonderful sense of humour. One memory in particular has stayed with me for nearly 40 years. When I was turning sixteen, he designed the invitation for my Sweet 16 party. Looking at it today, I’m reminded how ahead of his time he was. Written as a conversation between two friends, it reads remarkably like a modern-day text exchange. It was clever, creative, and uniquely him.

After the ceremony ended, I found myself wanting to visit my mom’s gravesite nearby. It would be my first time doing so since her passing in January.

Unlike my uncle’s grave, my mother’s remains unmarked. My brother and I have not yet chosen a monument or set a date for her unveiling. Standing there, quietly in reflection, it still felt surreal that she is gone.

I know I do not need a monument to feel connected to her, yet seeing the space so bare stirred something deep within me. It felt lonely.

Before leaving, I placed a small stone where her monument will one day be.

In Jewish tradition, stones are placed on graves as a sign of remembrance. Flowers fade, but stones endure. As I stood there, that small stone felt like a promise that she is remembered, that she is loved, and that her life mattered.

The truth is, as I’ve said before, my relationship with my mother was complicated. Like many mothers and daughters, we carried years of love alongside years of challenges. Not every memory is easy, and not every wound has had time to heal. But grief has taught me that love does not require perfection. We do not have to untangle every difficult thread to mourn someone deeply. We can hold the complicated parts and the beautiful parts at the same time.

Today, one gravesite was marked by a monument. The other waits quietly for one to come.

Yet both reminded me of the same truth: a monument can mark a life, but it cannot contain it.

My uncle lives on in stories that still make me smile. My mother lives on in ways both obvious and subtle, in lessons learned, in traits I’ve inherited, in memories that continue to surface when I least expect them.

Stone markers may take time to build.

But love, memory, and legacy are already there.

#unveiling #grief #memories #reflection #mentalhealth

As I watched A Beautiful Noise last Saturday evening, many parts of the storyline stayed with me long after the curtain closed.

One story in particular has lingered in my mind. During a difficult period in his life, when he was struggling with a constant internal battle, Neil Diamond is told an old tale by his second wife about two wolves living inside each of us.

One wolf represents fear, anger, sadness, worry, resentment, self-doubt, and negativity. The other represents joy, hope, kindness, gratitude, peace, and love.

When asked which wolf wins, the answer is both simple and deeply relatable:

The one you feed.

It’s been a really, really, really long week. Did I mention it was REALLY long?

Today felt like the tipping point. Between life’s challenges, grief that still appears when I least expect it, and the endless uncertainties we all carry, it became far too easy to focus on what felt heavy. By midday, the anxious, angry, negative wolf seemed determined to take over.

He was hungry… like a wolf. 😉

But as Shabbat approaches, I am reminded of my commitment to finding one good moment in every day. And I’m determined to find it. To nurture light alongside the darkness. To step away from the noise and into the holiness of this sacred pause. To remember that even when life feels overwhelming, there is still goodness to notice, gratitude to offer, and light to carry forward. To choose peace as I enter Shabbat.

Because feeding the positive wolf doesn’t mean pretending the other one doesn’t exist. It means choosing what deserves our attention. It means making room for gratitude even when life feels difficult, finding moments of joy amid the struggle, and remembering that hope needs nourishment too.

Shabbat invites us to make that choice consciously. To set down what weighs us down, if only for a little while, and reconnect with what restores our spirit.

So this Shabbat, I’m choosing to feed the wolf that brings kindness, peace, hope, and light.

May we all find ways to nourish the best within ourselves and carry that light into the week ahead.

Shabbat Shalom.

I can’t believe it’s June already.

Somehow we’ve reached the halfway mark of the year in what felt like the blink of an eye. Summer officially arrives in just a few short weeks, the days are getting longer, and the flowers are in bloom.

Up until 12 years ago when I first got sick, June had always been special to me. It’s my birthday month, and as someone who loves summer above all other seasons, this time of year would usually fill me with anticipation. Everything felt a little lighter once summer arrived. But if I’m being honest, birthdays have become complicated for me over the last many years.

It isn’t about getting older. In fact, it has nothing to do with age at all.

Birthdays have a way of making us reflect. They invite us to take inventory of our past, our present, and our future. Sometimes that reflection is joyful. Sometimes, as in my case, it’s a little heavier.

This year, perhaps more than ever, after all that the first half of the year has brought, that reflection feels particularly weighing. It makes today feel like the perfect time for a check-in.

How am I doing?

How are you doing?

“I’m fine” is an easy response for most of us. But not always a truthful one.

As we reach the midpoint of the year, take a moment to acknowledge everything you’ve carried these past six months? The challenges you’ve faced, the moments that tested you, and the victories, whether big and small, that helped you keep moving forward?

One of the promises I made to myself at the start of 2026 was simple: every single day, I would write down one good moment from my day.

Just one.

And now, 151 days in, I’m proud to say, I’ve kept that promise.

Some days it’s come easily. Other days I’ve had to search deep within myself to find it.

But what I’ve learned through this practice is that even on the hardest days, there is usually something worth noticing. Something worth remembering. Something good.

The exercise hasn’t erased the difficult moments, but it has helped me see them alongside the good ones.

As June begins, I’m carrying that lesson with me into the second half of the year, knowing that we can still be grieving and grateful at the same time.

Struggling and smiling.

Healing and still hurting.

Holding sorrow and hope in the very same heart.

So as we enter a new month, a new season, and for me, another trip around the sun in a few weeks, I’m checking in, not just with myself, but with all of you.

How are you doing today?

Tell me one good moment from your day?

#june #onegoodmoment #mentalhealth #grief #healing

Today is National Smile Day 😄, and I haven’t stopped smiling since seeing the Neil Diamond Musical, A Beautiful Noise last night. It did not disappoint.

But behind every smile over the past 24 hours, there have also been tears, personal struggles, and moments of reflection.

Since my mom’s passing in January, I have found myself a little obsessed with Neil Diamond. Maybe leaning on his music is part of my grieving and healing process. I’m not really sure.

A few months ago, after seeing the movie Song Sung Blue, I wrote a blog about how the very first concert I ever attended was with my mom when I was just ten years old. We went to see Neil Diamond, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

After watching Song Sung Blue, my obsession—or perhaps my healing journey, continued. I decided to introduce my kids to one of my favorite movies from childhood, The Jazz Singer, starring Neil Diamond. One out of three actually stayed until the end. That’s Gen Z’s for you! No appreciation for the classics… lol.

I’ve seen The Jazz Singer countless times before, but probably not in more than 35 years. The music was exactly as I remembered it, but the movie itself hit me in a completely different way this time around. I saw myself in the main character’s struggles, something I never would have understood before beginning my own mental health journey 12 years ago. Years of therapy, and with the help of my dedicated therapist have helped me recognize and come to terms with childhood trauma in ways I never thought possible.

A Beautiful Noise is structured around a series of present-day therapy sessions. An older Neil Diamond, reflecting on his retirement from performing, sits in his therapist’s office revisiting his catalog of lyrics. Those sessions trigger flashbacks as a younger Neil takes the audience through his life story, his early struggles, breakout success, and the personal and relationship sacrifices made along the path to global fame.

His music and his journey left me smiling, laughing, and crying all at once. More than once, I felt as though I was sitting in that therapist’s chair alongside him. In many ways, it felt incredibly healing.

Today, on the final day of May and Mental Health Awareness Month, I took both my smile and my tears on a grueling #SummerOfRich hike with Rich. Listening to the soundtrack from A Beautiful Noise all the way there. It was the perfect ending to an emotional, meaningful, and surprisingly healing weekend.

Because sometimes the strongest smiles aren’t the ones that hide our struggles, they’re the ones that survive them.

#abeautifulnoise #musical #neildiamond #mentalhealth #healing #obsession #nature #hiking #reflection #grief #nationalsmileday

Every time I read headlines like this, a little piece of me breaks further.

Mental illness is real.

Yesterday, four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux died by suicide. He was 60 years old.

Just a few days earlier, he proudly served as a torchbearer at Montreal’s Bell Centre during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, surrounded by family and celebrated by fans. To those in the arena, and the millions watching from home he appeared full of life. He was smiling, engaging with the crowd, and sharing in a moment of joy.

Yet, like so many people who struggle with their mental health, he may have never felt more alone.

His tragic death is another heartbreaking reminder that money, fame, success, and public admiration do not guarantee happiness. Mental illness does not discriminate. It can affect anyone, regardless of how strong, accomplished, or outwardly happy they may seem.

That is why we must keep talking. We must keep checking in on one another. We must continue encouraging people to seek help when they need it and reminding them that they do not have to carry their struggles alone.

Ending the stigma, fear, judgment, and shame surrounding mental illness is a team effort. Every conversation matters. Every act of compassion matters. Every time we reach out, listen, and show up for someone, it matters.

As Mental Health Awareness Month draws to a close this weekend, let us remember that awareness cannot be limited to a single month on the calendar. The need for compassion, understanding, and connection exists every day of the year.

You never truly know what someone is carrying behind their smile.

#resteasy #hockeychamp #claudelemieux #mentalhealthawareness #youarenotalone #startaconversation #endthestigma #itsoktoaskforhelp #itsoktonotbeok #youareenough