I’ve somehow made it through the past week without hitting critical mass. I won’t say I’ve had my moments, but rather, that the past seven days or so have been one big moment, with little instances of calm peppered in. Simply put, it was just a rough, overwhelming, busy, tiring week, the kind where you feel both accomplished and…
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No Reason to Fear
Ever since that horrible day 4 years ago, I have been shoved into every imaginable situation of discomfort. Just like all of you. I’ve been thrust into an oblivion… a war zone of emotions… trying to fight my way through without even knowing which direction I am fighting towards. Fighting in the dark. Wandering. Scared. Trying to survive.
The Third Year
Tomorrow is my husband’s third anniversary. And, like so much of this third year, the lead up has felt very different to the previous two. So much so, in fact, that it started to scare me as I’ve been wondering if something is wrong with me, or if I’d slipped back into some kind of state of shock. Even now, I’m struggling to find the words to…
The Agony of Defeat
Lately, I feel as if there are no more words left in the universe to properly describe how I feel. The words and phrases just don’t exist, or I’ve already described them multiple times, or I’m tired of describing them, or it’s repetitive and nobody wants to hear about it anymore anyway, or it’s just incredibly exhausting to constantly try and…
Plan B
I’m typing this in Sarasota, Florida sitting at a little restaurant bar downtown by myself. I flew down yesterday after my visit with my folks in Virginia and the idea is this: to investigate whether this state could be a possible place to relocate. Scary, yes. Hard, yes. Sad, yes. Possibly also exciting, yes.Because I might (read: probably will)…
This Air Force Widow….this FWG…and a Reunion~
Last Saturday I went to a reunion at the airbase in Jersey from which Chuck retired. The reunion was made up of crew and maintainers of the C-141’s, the cargo plane that my husband flew on as a flight engineer. That was before my time, but he spoke of those days, and, more so, the plane, often, in our years together. He was so proud of…
Home-Base
Megan and I bought our home in June of 2005. For nine years, it was “our” home. I had the outdoor spaces…lawn care, gardening, the garage, and landscaping were all mine to take care of and shape into something I enjoyed. Megan had the inside. Knick-knacks and decorations, paint colors, organization, and general decor were hers. …
It’s ok to not be ok
This week as been nothing short of rough. I’m hoping through this blog I will come up with something inspiring. But the truth is sometimes life is just hard. For some reason, I’m not overly sure why, I just have been very stressed and emotional this week. Sometimes it just hits you really hard, the truth, and the reality of where you are and…
Leaving Another Nest
I have decided something huge in the past few weeks. Something I have been working to make space for in my heart for about the past 3 or 4 months. It’s time, much sooner than I’d planned (story of my life)… I am moving in with my new love, Mike. As I spend most of my time at his house, it is getting harder and harder to live out of two…
Thankful for the Progress
It was my birthday yesterday. My third since Dan died. Next Sunday will be his third anniversary. This period from our wedding anniversary five weeks ago to his death anniversary is my hardest time of the year. This birthday felt a bit different. My last two were very difficult, over-shadowed by the looming death anniversary and full of…
We Can Do Better
This past Wednesday, July 13th, was the 5-year anniversary of my husband’s sudden death. Beginning on the first year anniversary, back in 2012, I started a campaign called “Pay it Forward for Don Shepherd.” I have run and organized this campaign / project on July 13th, every single year since he died. So, this is the 5th year of doing the…
A Dance In The Dark
I’m in Virginia now visiting my folks, in the house where I grew up. The summer after Mike died I visited here too, and was inconsolable…memories of texting my friend and fellow widow Margaret late into the night, sobbing, tears streaming down my face…unable to conceive of a world, or a life, without him. Every visit since tinged with those…