Image by Yoksel on Unsplash It’s Valentine’s Day already in some parts of the world. I know that the date fills a number of my fellow widbuds with Horror. Or Grief. Or Sadness. Or Resentment. There’s such “noise” around Valentine’s day in (at least Anglophone) parts of the world – it’s one of those many […]
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Bittersweet Victory
Yesterday was the biggest football game there is, and our Chiefs came out Champions. Growing up in Kansas City, the hometown love was instilled early. There is no other professional football team for me. I have swiped no to people on dating sites simply because they are wearing a Raiders jersey. There are some lines […]
Detours
So last night I had a strange dream. Well, I had many little dreams, but this was the last dream I had right before waking up this morning, and its the one I remember. In parts. In the dream, I was at the Marriott Hotel for Camp Widow, which I have been a presenter at […]
Happily Paired, or “Quirkyalone”, Happy Valentines Day
Last Saturday, I was fortunate to join other local artists for an art gala in my local community. It had been many years since I’d exhibited at or had been involved in the organization of such an event. Congratulations to the members of the Osprey Cove Women’s Club, my fellow committee members and the supportive […]
Discovering A Land of Enchantment
I know that today’s target, Amarillo, Texas, is the largest town in the Texas Panhandle. I have two local points of interest in mind when I visit it. One is known as the Second Amendment Cowboy, an enormous cowboy figure, whose original mission was hawking car mufflers. Although he neither packs a pistol nor wears […]
Valentines, Valentines, Valentines Everywhere . . .
. . . it’s here again In trying to take stock of Valentine’s Day past, memory is fuzzy. Images come forward of our last V-Day together… Family room with hospital bed set up Candles Decorative hearts abound Did we eat? It seems a blip on the radar screen of a long goodbye with no clear […]
Choosing Life – A Love Letter to Julia from Paula
Photo of Paula & Julia by a school friend I wake up to a firm ray of sunlight bursting through my dormitory window on July 2nd, 2019. I can’t wait to finally see my family after what feels like years. Suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of heaviness fills my chest, making it hard to get out […]
Recognized
When something tragic happens, everyone seems to know about it. You expect your core and extended people to know your story. I often forget how far-reaching bad news can be. How, in the age of social media and the internet it doesn’t take long for news to spread. It spreads far beyond what we even […]
Decades
Today is my parents wedding anniversary. 57 years together, so far. Today is also the anniversary of the day that Don Shepherd moved in with me, and packed up his life from Florida and left it to take a risk on a life with me, in New Jersey, just minutes outside NYC. He drove his […]
A gratitude post for those early days of grief.
A fellow widow and amazing writer (check out her newsletter!) inspired me this week to think and write about the ways I was supported in my early days of grief. I am definitely not a person who believes in forcing positivity or gratefulness in order to solve your problems, however, I think that a reflection […]
The Art of Celebrating a Life Well-Lived
Today my late husband Rich will celebrate a birthday in the Afterlife. I don’t know how birthday anniversaries are celebrated in that world, but down here I will be celebrating the occasion in a unique and personal way by participating in my first art event since I can’t even recall. Thinking June of 2019. As […]
Not Quite Arrived
By the time I exit the State of Missouri I’ve come to appreciate John Steinbeck’s astute observation, based on his own travels, that our country’s interstate highway system may be a fine solution for moving goods but it’s a lousy way to take in the countryside. Just past Joplin, Missouri, Interstate 40 crosses into the […]