ron stempkowski

Celebrating 15 Years of Showing Up

Posted on December 7, 2025December 7, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Fifteen years. I had to sit with that number for a minute. I started this blog in a very different version of my life, long before I knew how much the words would hold, or how many times they’d help... Read More

The Quiet Gratitude That Stays

Posted on November 28, 2025November 27, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

the leftovers are stacked in the fridge that makes space for the good stuff to surface. Not the performative kind of gratitude, but the real, lived-in kind—the moments that catch you off guard and r... Read More

It’s Okay if Gratitude Doesn’t Feel Natural Right Now

Posted on November 26, 2025November 26, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Some days, gratitude feels easy. Other days, it feels like trying to read fine print in the dark. And if you’re in one of those darker stretches right now, I want to say something simple: there’s ... Read More

Grief Taught Me to See Differently

Posted on November 25, 2025November 25, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

There was a time when the word gratitude felt impossible. People love to offer it up as a cure-all—look for the silver lining, focus on the good, find the lesson. But when you’re living inside rea... Read More

When a Colleague Disappears From the Grid

Posted on November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

We’ve all seen it happen. Someone who’s usually plugged in—responsive, steady, present—suddenly goes quiet. No updates. No replies. Just…silence. Years ago, when Ken was sick, that silence w... Read More

When Personal Grief Meets Professional Expectations

Posted on November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

There’s this surreal split-screen feeling that happens when you’re grieving, but work keeps moving like it always does. Your life is coming apart at the seams, and yet the calendar notifications k... Read More

The Unseen Grief in Workplace Change

Posted on November 18, 2025November 18, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Workplace change always looks so tidy on paper. A reorg announcement lands in your inbox with color-coded boxes and arrows pointing confidently toward the future. Leadership says things like “alignm... Read More

An Infusion of Empathy

Posted on November 17, 2025November 26, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Lately, I’ve been carrying around this steady, low-grade urge to give the world a giant dose of empathy. Not in a grand, superhero way. More like a quiet nudge. A refill. A top-off. Something warm p... Read More

The Quiet Ways Grief Changed Me—for the Better

Posted on November 16, 2025November 16, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Grief and loss don’t define me. They inform me. For a long time, I thought grief had rewritten my entire identity. After Ken died, everything felt marked by before and after. I didn’t recognize th... Read More

What Grief Taught Me About Storytelling

Posted on November 13, 2025November 13, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

There’s a strange thing that happens after you lose someone you love — the story you thought you were living ends mid-sentence. One minute, you’re a “we.” The next, you’re a plot twist you... Read More

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ron stempkowski

ron stempkowski

love, loss, healing, and humor…in no particular order

Category: Grief

Celebrating 15 Years of Showing Up

The Quiet Gratitude That Stays

It’s Okay if Gratitude Doesn’t Feel Natural Right Now

Grief Taught Me to See Differently

When a Colleague Disappears From the Grid

When Personal Grief Meets Professional Expectations

The Unseen Grief in Workplace Change

An Infusion of Empathy

The Quiet Ways Grief Changed Me—for the Better

What Grief Taught Me About Storytelling