If you’ve read Sarah’s Post this past Sunday, then you are aware that she and I (and Shelby) were in Corpus Christi, Texas, over an extended weekend. One of her longest and closest friends was marrying, and Sarah herself was a bridesmaid. In that regards, I wasn’t a widower this past weekend. I was the “second partner” of a widow.
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Big Love
My smile has been gone for a long time. I wore it effortlessly when Mike was alive. But, now, my smile feels like an accessory I wear only on special occasions. I know that it won’t be like this forever because I love life too much to never smile again. But, for right now, my heart feels empty, And, I see a deficiency of joy in my eyes.
The Waiting Game
Anxiety. Grabbing your chest in a tight ball. Stealing your breath from you. Stealing your sleep and your peace and your energy. I’ve been down in Texas a few days visiting for a close friend’s wedding I’m in and each morning I’ve woken up before the sun with anxiety. Anxious about being back home for only a short time. That I am but 3…
Walking in the Snow
It’s very cold here. Winter has settled upon this sleepy town in which I reside. Snow has fallen and ice has wrapped herself around anything and everything within her reach, clutching as if desperate. I, too, am desperate. Desperate to come in from the cold I was involuntarily tossed out into a short while ago. Desperate to come in and feel the…
The End is Lurking
Lately, Ive been feeling some sort of way. Tired. Spent. Sick, but not like flu sick. Heart sick. Soul sick. Something feels off. I feel off. Introspective. Quiet. Everything seems like Slow motion. Im not quite sure what this is. But I do know what it is. Maybe. I think this might be my life now. This might be “grief,…
Loss of a Different Kind
In my 37 years, I’ve seen my share of loss. I’ve lost all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, fellow Marines, a brother-in-law, cats, dogs and other pets, co-workers, and obviously, my wife. There has been illness, accidents, age, war, heart-attacks, and a sprinkle of stupidity involved. It happens. Death happens. I…
Off Kilter
My memories of Mike echo off the walls of the house, yet the silence in my home is deafening. Everything is quiet now. Death makes your whole world go silent. I think this is by design. We need this noiseless environment and solitude to contemplate how we will re-create ourselves. As we do the work of re-defining our identity we need to…
New Identities in Widowhood
Here we are. A new year. An entire expanse of fresh time laid out before me… and a mixture of dread and excitement about what that means. As I’m reflecting and looking forward from this in-between space, I’m thinking on just how much has changed in my life in the past five years. In particular, how unreal it is that I have become so many new…
Wrapped in Plastic
I started something. A project some time ago. Something that had the potential to be great. It wasn’t the first time people had criticized my actions or gave me their advice or opinions. With anything great or new always comes opposition, whether it be other people or ourselves. When I dated for the first time after Linzi, I questioned…
Nobody Tells You
I am so beyond pissed right now. I just wrote a great big blog post that took me over an hour to craft and create. It was perfect. It was all about all the things that nobody tells you about, all the things that will happen and that you feel and go through, when your person dies. It was fucking perfect. I clicked SEND. And it disappeared. I…
Possibilities
When Mike died, that terrible first day, I remember asking a dear friend, in my stuttering confusion and desperation, to let me know how long that feeling was going to last. You know the one. The shock and horror of finding that your beloved husband had unexpectedly died during the night. Yeah. That feeling. That feeling when the ground…
Shadow Selfies~
Most times I have no idea what I’ll write for this blog, ahead of time. Sometimes I swear that I have nothing to say and no ideas and I think I just have to give up writing here. I have no more thoughts about widdahood. But I’ve also realized that ideas come from the most unexpected places. I can be out and about and hear a phrase from strangers…