Nothing, except everything. Yesterday, May 5th, the grief hit me out of nowhere, yet not entirely unexpectedly.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā We loved turning nothing into something, any excuse into a celebration. Take Cinco de Mayo, for instance. Not Mexican Independence Day š²š½ and not a widely celebrated holiday in Mexico, but after nearly 30 years […]
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Ya gotta feel all the feelings
ā¦ and Iāve sure been doing a lot of āfeelingā lately. Feeling Jim’s absence here in our home as the days, weeks, months pass. Feeling my age … in my brain and in my body. I just donāt have the energy to āpeopleā ā to put on that happy face for others. I have a […]
A Hole in the House
What in the widowed life is going on here? I have a literal hole in my house. This is a prime example of a situation where I would have had to exert zero thoughts on the matter if Tony was alive. Instead, I am very overwhelmed. Last week, my oldest came home from school and […]
Need to Update My Emotional Emergency Fund
I read recently that “Emergency funds are financialĀ shock absorbers, protecting your budget from unexpected car repairs, medical bills, jobĀ loss, etc. Funds should be kept in a safe, easily accessibleĀ account. This can reduce financialĀ stress, and act as a buffer against income disruptions.” It made me reflect on the times when I have had a healthy emergency […]
Alternate Routes
It was an eventful week filled with emotional milestones. I spent most of the week up in Georgia again to ready my home for a new tenant. As Iāve shared previously, I put my house up for sale two months ago and in doing so, invested considerable energy and funds to make it shine. I […]
Hanging with Other Widowed People
I mentioned the first failed attempt at going to a local widow’s group I was invited to join but this Monday rolled around and my friend who invited me texted me to remind me the group was meeting for lunch that day. The struggle is real when you’re an introvert and you’re asked to “show […]
Green Grow the Lilacs, All Sparkling with Dew
Last week, Tim the gardener made his first appearance of the season at my property. Since Leeās death, this has become an annual rite of Spring. Before I used Timās services, I depended on Lee to excavate and rescue the previous yearās growth from the harsh remnants of winterās bramble.Ā In her day, she would […]
The Wild Wild Southwest šµ
First things first, and the most important thing first: this airline gets me!!! ā”ļøā”ļøā”ļøā”ļøā”ļøā”ļø But seriously, the polarity of this journey that goes from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other in a nanosecond, I had to take a picture of it. Well, we did it! We survived and, may I dare say, […]
For Better or For Worse
I just found this newspaper cartoon clipping in Jimās bedside drawer. It was folded up in a basket of miscellaneous keys, coins and receipts so I hadnāt yet taken the time to sort through all of it. I love Irisā words: āWe made a commitment ā¦ and although itās not easy, this is all part […]
DeathFest V in Review
A week ago, I hosted a party called DeathFest V (5) to honor the life Tony lived and the person he was. Tony loved revelry with all the people he loved. Even though the party had a dark name, gathering together was at the center of the event. As I built the invite list, I […]
The Small Gestures That Help the Healing
I have such strong memories of the times people have said things that were – unbeknownst to them – hurtful to hear as a grieving widow. We know them all, ” I ALSO have strong memories that make me tear up with joy when I think of the times when someone unexpectedly said or did […]
Home Matters
Last week I wrote about my home in Georgia, the one that Rich and I purchased in early 2020. I relayed that Iāve been moving out and away from that haven for about two-and-a-half years now when in the fall of 2023 I acquired on a whim a log home in rural Northeast Florida. Not […]