today, someone asked me what i do. when i told her she asked, “how do you come up with them?” “i don’t know,” i said. “i can’t make them stop.”and it reminded me that i used to wonder, are there enough of them? they seemed so hard to come by before that moment, but now, they’re as plentiful as the rays of light blanketing los…
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Feeling Guilty ….
… for falling in love again? Ummmm …… not so much. I’ve heard and read a lot about this topic lately. I’ve seen what others have written about it. And I’ve seen quite a bit of guilt. Why? Why do we do that to ourselves?I use the word “we”, even though guilt is not an emotion that I am, or have, felt since I started dating again (after…
#10 for G
Ten years ago my little guy came unexpectedly into the world. He was six weeks early, our house was not quite finished with a last minute remodel, and I had been hanging sheet rock the day before….yes, I know this sounds like a bad idea. :)Ten years later, I have the good fortune to be the mother of a fabulous little guy (or not so little, he’s…
“Oh, What Shall I Do?”
Chris and I had season tickets to the opera. He was passionate about the art form and I enjoyed it enough to go with him. I continued our subscription after he died and have started a new tradition of bringing a friend or family member with me to each performance.One of the operas I saw last fall was Faust, which is about a man who sells his soul…
TMI?
What do I tell the kids when they get older? Specifically, what do I tell Molly, the child Lisa carried in her womb while fighting cancer?Do I tell her that her mom’s cancer spread when she was pregnant? Even though the doctors said the cancer was estrogen negative and that didn’t affect the pregnancy. Do I still tell her? Do I tell her a…
Kora
It started with a call from CJ (my brother in law), letting me know that he and Kenzi we’re heading to the hospital to have their baby girl. Rewind to 9 months earlier, it was another dinner and movie night at our home and Kenzi and CJ walked in, stood in the entrance and announced they were pregnant. When the words came out of their mouths, it was…
Does widowhood define me?
As a widow, how many times have you said, “when/since/because _____ died”? Even after two years, three months and six days, I regularly use this phrase. Does widowhood define me this much or is it that the loss of my husband has been so life-altered, self-forming, world-shifting to me that I can attribute most of the occurrences in my present life…
circles
not long after the darkness fell upon us, i came up with an arbitrary goal… wear them one day longer than her. but this wasn’t the first time i let some unspoken goal determine my behavior. no, giving myself a personal challenge that eventually becomes a near obsessive compulsive disorder, this is a problem i’ve always had. like that…
I Dreamed a Dream ….
I am happy. Finally, after what seems an eternity, I can say …. and mean …. those three words. After over 2 years of thinking that I would never be happy again. After over 2 years of wishing that I were there with him. After over 2 years of feeling that I was going to drown. I. Am. Happy. And yet ……….. there are still moments when a…
Come to Camp with Me!
I looked at the calendar last night and realized…I’m leaving for Camp Widow in 5 weeks. 5 weeks!!!! It seems like just yesterday I was packing my bags to head home from last year’s surprisingly fantastic weekend. I was expecting the weekend to be great, we had planned it for months and Michele can make anything fabulous. What I wasn’t expecting…
Musical Monday: Finding Myself
Before I was widowed I knew who I was and I held pretty firm beliefs about life in general. Prior to marrying Phil I lived through a divorce and the ensuing identity crisis, and I came out on the other side more aware of my personal strengths and weaknesses. My divorce also taught me that I was capable of recreating my life. I knew that I didn’t…
The Other Side
I got into a silly argument. I said you can’t protect him. They said yes we can and they said we resent being told we cannot. And after I read those words I dope slapped myself. They are on the other side. They are on the side where sure, sure random “bad” things can happen but to other people. But as parents we can navigate and shield our…