In my family, December is dying time. Mom passed away in December a few months before Lee and I married. I still can see my father crying softly during our wedding ceremony, sitting by himself, his wife of more than fifty years gone from his side. Thirteen years later, on a Sunday in December, Dad, […]
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Three Widows and Grief
One of us was working too hard. The other was wobbling on the ladder of memories on her death-a-versary. Each of us with our long list of widow-worries and widowed woes showed up to help the other. Being together was unplanned. Beyond what one might expect, being together brought […]
So many holiday feels…
Here we are yet again. Knee-deep already in another holiday season. This one has been a little different than last. The twins are another year older and understanding more. The excitement and joy of the season for them is just as much, if not more this year. I find myself battling internally with trying to […]
Gearing Up for Christmas
I blinked and Thanksgiving was ages ago, and we are in the thick of Christmas. We’ve decorated the inside of the house, but I’ve made a few changes this year. It’s been so cold; I haven’t put up any outdoor decorations. At this point, I don’t think I will at all. I also didn’t put […]
Peace Circle
Yesterday I had lunch with two dear widow friends that Ive gotten pretty close with. We started talking about how important it has been for each of us in our life after loss, to find a sense of peace in our life and in our surroundings. We talked about how we had no choices in […]
The Long Trail Forward
The past week found me entrenched in preparing gift baskets for a Silent Auction that was held last night. Despite some weather challenges and logistical matters, I’m happy to report it was a successful event. Floridians do not like colder temps. This “Yule Be Home for Christmas and Happy Mew Year” themed event was held […]
“Uncage the Soul”
This week, a local artist I know lost her son to cancer. I had been watching his story with the disease unfold for a couple years. At one point in time he owned a video production company called, Uncage the Soul (the phrase was apparently one he used to sign correspondences while he was young […]
Stop Feeling Guilty
In 2014, Dr. Lucy C. Hone, a director at the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience and a university researcher witnessed a motorist slam his car into a car that was carrying her young daughter, instantly killing the child. See https://ideas.ted.com/sorrow-and-tragedy-will-happen-to-us-all-here-are-3-strategies-to-help-you-cope/ (Nov. 13, 2019). She recalls, “Suddenly, I was the one on the receiving […]
Some Days Are Like That
Trying to roll with it According to experts, fatigue is a very common physical symptom of grief, often experienced as extreme tiredness or exhaustion. This fatigue can manifest in waves and significantly impact daily functioning. –NHS, Cleveland Clinic, and WebMD Three things stand out for me in this quote: A common symptom in grief is […]
Sparkly Grief
It’s that time of year yet again. I feel conflicted yet I am trying so hard not to take away from the magic of this season for the twins. The holiday season this year seemed to creep up on me. I was so focused on getting ready for our trip in October that by the […]
Chiefs Love
This year I’ve been gifting the kids experiences for their birthdays instead of traditional presents. Friday, my youngest cashed in on his gift and I took him to his first ever NFL game. We spent our Black Friday tailgating and watching the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Las Vegas Raiders instead of shopping. Tony […]
Life Cycles
I had a nice Thanksgiving. Two Thanksgivings, actually. On that day, the weather was bad (rain, sleet, bit of snow), so we pushed our family holiday out by one day so my parents wouldnt have to travel the 2 hours from Cape Cod to come here. Instead, I had an invite to hang with my […]