When was the last time you did something out of character? For me, I’m doing something right now that’s out of character for me. When I bought my tiny, teardrop trailer a couple years ago, I quickly found out that the particular brand had a following. The manufacturer, NuCamp, really leans into it and actually […]
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Gone Fishin’
With Labor Day just around the corner, can the end of Summer be far? Although the calendar reminds us that the season doesn’t officially change until September 21, the kids are already back in school, and Halloween costumes, decorations, and candies have flooded Costco and other big-box stores. I expect the first Christmas jingles to […]
Voicemail Message ☎️
Ring, ring, ring… ☎️ Hi, hola… You have reached Liliana. I’m not available to get to the phone right now, or respond to your text messages, or pay my bills and freaking parking tickets on time so they freaking double and triple, or keep up with doctors’ appointments, or house maintenance. Also, I started a […]
Ah … the ocean
“The ocean is blue poetry written in a language the soul somehow understands.” Anonymous I am so very happy I decided to schedule this important week at the ocean. And I was wise to break up my drive into two days – and grateful my car held up through that especially hot drive through the […]
Missed Reunions
This morning I received an email inviting Tony to his 30-year high school reunion. Immediately the mental gymnastics started. Whose email address did this come to? Will his death be a topic of conversation at the reunion? Or will he quietly be forgotten by those we were close to? And remembering how much fun we […]
We’re on this Roller Coaster Together
A friend recently connected me with her friend who had unexpectedly lost her partner a few months ago. In talking with her, I recognized that “under the surface shock while trying to pretend to hold a normal conversation” that I (and probably most of us) felt after Lynn passed – especially for those first 6-12 […]
Fetching Hope
It was another extremely hot week here in Northeast Florida with heat indexes up to 114 “feels like” degrees. And of course the humidity makes it almost pointless to shower if you plan to spend any time outdoors, even early in the morning. You do get used to it, and to move more slowly as […]
More trips down memory lane …
So if anyone is wondering what Mario and I were doing in the 90s, this pile of old rave and club flyers gives a good clue! I’ve mentioned before we were DJs in the Los Angeles club and underground rave scene. During my closet clean out project last week, I also stumbled upon a plastic […]
Radical Acceptance 🏳️
“Radical acceptance of our story is the only way to move forward. All that matters is what is actually in your story. And part of radically accepting it is letting your own story break your heart.” I came across this quote by Katherine Wolf, while searching for more grief and healing podcasts, and […]
Hello August … Hello Melancholy
For the past 16 years I’ve been visited by a melancholy that begins mid-August and lasts through September. Some years it has spoken quite loudly; other years just a quiet whisper. This year feels especially heavy. I’ve mentioned previously that my two wedding anniversaries and two death dates are very closely connected: I married Vern […]
CONGRATULATIONS
Tonight I was texting with my original Camp Widow crew of four. We haven’t all been together, in person, in a few years. But our connection is still strong and even if some time passes, we are always just a text away. As we were texting, I was reminded of where one of our inside […]
The Point of the Mountain
“One day, the mountain that is in front of you will be so far behind you, it will barely be visible in the distance. But the person you become in learning to get over it? That will stay with you forever. And that is the point of the mountain.” ― Brianna Wiest, The Mountain is You I […]