Weekends are often difficult and long for widowed people, and holiday weekends are especially challenging. So many of us have distant, and not so distant, memories of holidays gone by. For me, the Memorial Day Weekend holds many. Places like the New Jersey Shore, embrace the unofficial beginning of the summer season even though summer […]
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Needing to Get Back to Balance
If you’ve been reading my posts every Friday, you’ll know that the last couple weeks have had a lot of kitty health issues. Thursday evening Freya and I made the trip one hour north to Eugene, Oregon for a life-saving blood transfusion at an ER vet (side note: I never really thought about cats donating […]
Out of the Blue
Out of the blue, I received a text message from Joe’s wife, Katie. Regular readers know that Joe is Lee’s nephew. Joe, Katie, and their two children, Allie and Dean, now live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It had been at least one year, probably more, since I last saw or heard from them. Katie wanted […]
The Regalos 💝 of Grief
I am not going to lie, this one is a tough one for me to write, like I really had to think about it long and hard. Before the massive earthquake that decimated my life, AKA the death of my husband, I was the eternal optimist, the happy-go-lucky (most times 😆), borderline toxically positive person, […]
It Is What It Is
To honor the strength it takes to face what we did not choose—and to recognize the quiet courage within ourselves and others that rises up to meet it. Oprah Daily Intention, April 4, 2026 I survived ‘the visit’ just fine (reference last week’s post). As usual, my thoughts and fears beforehand were far […]
A Dating Methodology
Over the last few years, I’ve dated on and off. I’ve primarily used dating apps because I don’t find myself ‘in the wild’ where there are other single people. Dating as a widow, after a marriage I was happy in has been a challenge. While I can feel broken and discombobulated, I also know what […]
My Life Journey As Seen On a Kindle List
I stopped reading on my Kindle when Lynn passed 11+ years ago, for no other reason than I stopped doing a lot of “normal” things – watching movies, hanging out with friends, etc. Reading was just another thing lost in the “new abnormal” when your life and routines suddenly changes. I picked my Kindle back […]
“Winn” Some, Lose Some
It’s been a productive week all-round. One day seems to blur into the next lately until it’s just about Thursday when I ask myself what I might write about for Saturday’s post. It’s been a busy week on many fronts. Our local Winn Dixie will be closing in a few weeks, to be taken over […]
When you don’t have kids …
I’m not sure of the exact percentage, but I know there’s quite a few of us who were married and did not have any kids. For Mario and I, it was a conscious choice. Honestly, for me, it was a choice that happened very early in my life. I just could never see myself as […]
The Thrill is NOT gone
So, last night Steve and I went to a large theater to hear a performance by “Rodrigo Y Gabriela,” the married couple who have been popularizing the venerable style of guitar called flamenco. Until late last week, I had no idea who these musicians were or what they sounded like, despite having a Grammy to […]
Once Upon a Time…👑
…In a Far, Far Away Kingdom 👸🏻 In the kingdom of Washington, DC, there lived a beautiful, brave, brave princess. She had just entered teenagehood, and she lived with her loving parents, the King and Queen, her older brother, the Prince, and the royal pet, June, the collie-lab mix. They lived a lovely, chaotic life, […]
Awaiting the Unknown
So they’re coming this afternoon … I’ve boxed up all of the things for them to take away. Lots of photos that I know they want and a lot of other things I hope they will want. I read a few more of those letters Jim wrote to Estelle from Vietnam and they are just so […]