On July 20th, I walked out of Michele Neff Hernandez’s keynote address at Camp Widow in San Diego to a text message indicating bad news back home. Thankfully, the text indicated my kids were okay. As I rode the escalator to a quieter part of the hotel my mind raced through scenarios of what the […]
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The Beginning and the End
Ive always said that every end is another beginning, and every beginning is another end. Usually one happens because of the other, and they sort of blend together. They can both be emotional and scary and often times, when we are going through the end of something, the last thing we want to hear is […]
Camp Widow Confidential
Happy Saturday. As I wasn’t able to attend Camp Widow in San Diego this year, I asked Margie Perez, a four-time Camp Widow ambassador to share her experience there. I met Margie on my first day at Camp Widow San Diego last year. I liked her positive and outgoing approach and her sense of humor. […]
Rest
It’s been a tough few weeks and I’ve had a lot to do. I feel like I’ve been in constant motion. And I’ve still not readjusted my schedule after the few nights staying up all night at the hospital while my dad was there. And I’ve still not gotten much more than 5-6 hours of […]
Lola the Wonder Dog
My first contribution to this blog, entitled “Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself” (Feb. 4, 2021), concludes: “So I was left to ponder the BIG QUESTIONS: Am I destined to die alone? Why shouldn’t I get a dog?” *** The first question remains wide open. As for the second, well, I got the dog and […]
Camp Widow:
A Fine Champagne On the Move A mere 77,999 days ago a widow changed the face of widowhood. Madame Clicquot, known as the “Grande Dame of Champagne” was a French Champagne producer. She took on her husband’s wine business when widowed at 27. Under her ownership, and her skill with wine, the company developed early […]
How Are You Doing?
A repost! Join me next week to read all about Camp Widow San Diego 2024! This past weekend someone had asked me how I was doing. This question is one of those common questions you get in conversations and is usually followed by just a casual response of either ‘I’m good’ or ‘I’m fine’ and […]
Life-Changing Paths
Each time Friday rolls around I’m stunned. The other day I posted that it was Thursday until someone reminded me that it was actually Wednesday! I guess that’s a good thing – to be so absorbed in daily life activities that one is no longer fixated on days, nights, hours, minutes. That’s a gift, I […]
A Mountain of Things
This week I’ve spent a lot of time helping my mom with various things while also watching her ride the rollercoaster of the stages of grief. I know she’s frustrated. She’s 83 and has only so much energy and patience in a day. She really wants to get all of the important things done that […]
Revisiting My Past
The sun on the water is sparkling. The sky is pure blue, cloudless. It was in the mid-eighties when we departed shore. A light breeze is coming from the south. Robyn has wisely brought along a sweater today, ready for the changing weather conditions one encounters on the water. However, no sweater is needed for […]
The Gift of Camp Widow
in San Diego once again! The first Camp Widow showed up as “The First Annual National Conference on Widowhood.” Take a moment and consider that we’re celebrating the 16th year of Camp Widow this coming weekend. Many more than sixteen camps have endured. Add to that Canada and Australia—Wow! All major accomplishments that started […]
Insignificant, Yet Significant
There are just some things that I can’t seem to part with. For the past three weeks, I have been trying to get rid of a set of bath towels that the twins have been using. It has definitely seen some better days. For some reason, I just can’t seem to say goodbye to something […]