I know I mentioned this after attending the Calgary Camp Widow, but this past weekend has once again truly emphasized the importance of Finding Your Community. Hands United Together, Threads of strength weave, Voices rising in hope, A tapestry of souls, Bound in unity. (Tiny Poetry/Community Poems) I spent three days surrounded by some wonderful […]
About Dianne West Garvey
The Ups and Downs
Sometimes the missing can be so big. No specific triggers. Just all the feels. And the only thing to do is to lean into it. Cry. Oh boy, you can cry. Take a walk … or take a nap. Write it all out. Even the ugly unspeakable things. Or maybe just sit with the silence. […]
Just BE
I’ve been feeling … odd … out of sorts … can’t really put my finger on it. Maybe it’s a result of passing the one-year milestone and entering the dreaded year 2. Perhaps it’s that knee/leg thing that continues to hurt. Or because I have to board Sheila in a couple of weeks. Could be […]
Look for the Happy in your Sad
I’m still doing my best to look for the good each day and carve out a little bit of fun in the midst of those hard days that continue to pop up. You gotta look for the good in the bad, the happy in your sad, the gain in your pain, and what makes you […]
Feel what you feel when you feel it
I ended last week’s post on a positive note. They weren’t just words to fill a page. I really did feel more positive than I have since Jim died. I survived those first-year milestones, enjoyed some wonderful times with friends, visited some beautiful spots. I felt ready to make a real effort to figure out […]
It’s been a year of Yin and Yang
shock & grief / hope ~ ups / downs ~ hurt feelings / kindness unexpected disappearances / lovely returns lots of tears / but also some laughter loneliness / community ~ isolation / travel I made it through all of those “firsts” since Jim died – and all of those memories of […]
Thank You, Calgary
What a perfect place for me to be during this hard week of loss and memories … a beautiful park just a few blocks from my hotel, those incredibly beautiful lakes in and around the Banff National Forest, reconnecting and meeting in person some of the widowed friends I met online back in 2020 during […]
This is the week …
Posting this blog 16 years to the day after Vern passed … and spending this important week here in Calgary, Canada, honoring both Vern’s and Jim’s passings. Vern died September 22, 2010 … Jim died September 26, 2025 I do find it rather amazing that my loss dates fall within the same week, as do […]
September Morn …
Stay with me awhile I only wanna talk with you Losing Jim has brought back many of the feelings I had when I lost Vern nearly 16 years ago. Of course, those feelings never really went away but were tucked in a safe space most days. Perhaps this is a blessing. Both of my men […]
Dear September …
I am not asking for a new life Just a softer space inside this one ~Jess Baird I miss those days I had at the beach but it’s rather nice to be home. Even though I’ve considered moving, this is where I need to be right now. Probably not forever. But who knows? I’m […]
Ocean waves, starry nights = healing magic
My week at the beach was so very lovely. A beautiful gift to myself during such a special week. Two husbands. Two wedding anniversaries. Plenty of time to reminisce. To cry. To rest. To rejuvenate. And I do feel better. Much better. More positive. Ready to try to do a better job at living my […]
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 […]