To comprehend how far we’ve moved forward after a life-changing event, it’s helpful to take a look back. I often ask myself to recall what I was doing a year, or even more, earlier at any given time. It may be difficult, but in the end it is ultimately helpful, for better or worse. This […]
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Signs
Talking with others who have lost someone, a common topic that often comes up are signs from your departed loved one. I’ve been documenting signs since the day Mario died. When I speak of signs, I am talking about occurrences that go beyond the coincidental or the mundanely explainable. Also, things that have a particular, […]
Other Pathways
Lately, I have taken to reading random Widow’s Blog posts, which are maintained in the Soaring Spirits archives, by authors who have come and gone from this site. Initially, I mainly was interested in determining what the average shelf life was for these writers while I mulled whether my own has about run its course. […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part Four
How does resilience help widowed people heal? The Soaring Spirits Resilience Center research team asked widowed people to help us define resilience as it applies to the widowed experience and the results are inspiring. –Soaring Spirits Website The time I first heard about the Soaring Spirits Resilience Center in the Texas Hill Country, I wanted […]
The Potty Milestone
It’s one in a few when I get those proud parenting moments as a solo parent. I always feel as if I’m not doing enough or I’m not giving enough or I’m just not enough for them. How does one person fill the spot of two? The first week of September was potty training time […]
My Memorial Tattoo
When I wrote my first blog post for this site in March of 2022, I shared what I refer to as my widow mantra. That mantra is to Be Brave. Stay Strong. Love Hard. You can read that post here: My Widow Mantra – Widow’s Voice (widowsvoice.com) At the time, I knew I wanted to […]
Healing Comes in Scribbles
I have always loved and appreciated words. The way they form, the meaning behind them, where they originated from, how they sound. Everything about words and language I seem to connect with on both an emotional and visceral level. With that in mind, I have always loved the word healing, and not been fond of the word […]
Let The Cabin Chronicles Begin!
As I write this, I’m pulling together the final details for my latest “project”. I know many of my friends and neighbors have learned of my new venture, but as I’ve been cautious to share before I’ve signed on the dotted line, I’ve been concentrating on navigating the challenges of acquiring real estate, this […]
A Race to the Finish Line
Mario always said he, “wasn’t in a race to the finish line”, in reference to cutting his life short. As depressed as he would get, he said he didn’t want to commit suicide. In my eyes, he absolutely was in a race to the finish line by destroying his health year after year through drinking. […]
Maintaining the Status Quo
I received a notification that I had a new message on MyChart. This message was a routine request from the office of a doctor with whom I am meeting later this month, requesting me to review and verify personal account information. While doing so I realized that Lee remains listed there as my emergency contact, […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part Three
RESILIENCE Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Being resilient does not mean a person doesn’t experience stress, emotional upheaval, and suffering. Resilience involves the ability to work through emotional pain and suffering. — Katie Hurley, LCSW The quote reminds me of the Japanese proverb that says Fall […]
August Slipped Away
August has always been such a busy month in our lives. Our entire family’s birthdays. Summer plans, parties, trips…memories. This past month, mostly these past two weeks have been more of a rollercoaster than I remember last year being. This was the first August since Erik’s passing that I was less numb and more aware […]