A little over a year after I lost my husband, I also lost my job. The DOGE closing of our main government client, where we provided media training and marketing support in Latin America, did us in. We hung on for about a year without getting paid, hoping and praying that the contracts were going […]
Blog
Dear September …
I am not asking for a new life Just a softer space inside this one ~Jess Baird I miss those days I had at the beach but it’s rather nice to be home. Even though I’ve considered moving, this is where I need to be right now. Probably not forever. But who knows? I’m […]
Coffee and Hugs
I’ve noticed as I get older and experience major life changes, friendships change too. Like all things, they run the gamut on the friendship type. Since losing Tony, I have also lost a handful of friendships I would have said were unbreakable before he died. I have mourned those friendships alongside my husband. But I […]
“I Truly Believe That I’m Going To See Him Again Someday” ~ Dolly Parton
I am so grateful I was able to visit Dollywood with Lynn and her family a few years before she passed. Dollywood is still one of my favorite places to visit, and I tell people it reminded me of going to Disneyland in the 1970’s / 80’s. It had an amazing feeling of being in […]
The Art of Good Memories
Seems like I was just writing about the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays and now here we are at the unofficial end of the Summer of 2026 and Labor Day. Weekends, especially holiday weekends, can be hard on the widowed no matter the point in time of our loss. Once a time of […]
My Social Battery is Dead
I desperately need rest and recharging. I feel like I’ve had to play the role of the Energizer Bunny and my batteries just died. Someone who isn’t an introvert would probably look at my last week and think, aside from not getting enough sleep, it all looks like a great time! I did have fun, […]
Autumn Leaves…a repost
While Gary is out on his fishing trip I wanted to repost an old memory as summer begins to turn into fall… (Mary Moore Hughes) This week’s post will have to be short. I prepare to leave for Deer Tick Manor on Thursday night. On Friday I will help direct the setup for Saturday’s long […]
In With The Old 📜
We are in it! A new school year, new challenges, a new routine. Very different from last year and that is, in our case, not a bad thing. I am though, more exhausted than other exhausted days. For that reason, I decided to repost a blog from a few months ago where we got to […]
Ocean waves, starry nights = healing magic
My week at the beach was so very lovely. A beautiful gift to myself during such a special week. Two husbands. Two wedding anniversaries. Plenty of time to reminisce. To cry. To rest. To rejuvenate. And I do feel better. Much better. More positive. Ready to try to do a better job at living my […]
A BBQ Keepsake Found
I found something of Tony’s this weekend that I had searched for extensively in the year after he died. When he first started smoking a lot of BBQ, I bought him a small leather journal. He spent so many weekends practicing; different recipes, cook times, and temperatures. Smoke, taste test, rinse and repeat. (Almost 20 […]
Letting Go of a Survival Identity
I collect quotes, and some of them ending up aligning with one another in a way that drives the point stronger. Here are a few gems lately: “You already know what to do, you’re just negotiating with comfort.” “Your commitment to the future needs to be stronger than your attachment to the past.” “The world changes […]
Happy Dog Daze
I’ve shared so many times before about the incredible role that dogs play in grief recovery, especially for the widowed population. For several years I’ve written and blogged about an event called National Dog Week, observed each September, since 1928, and many other well-deserved observances that honor all things dog. Wednesday, canines were honored […]