My youngest son was in first grade when his dad passed. In second grade, he started playing flag football. Football quickly became one of his favorite sports. When he was in third grade, he stayed at practice late one evening dreaming up new plays with his coach. I remember him coming home that night and […]
A Story Unknown
At work last week, I had the opportunity to listen to a variety of speakers as part of a day focused on creative renewal. All the speakers were great. However, I was drawn to one named, Suleika Jaouad. She wasn’t the typical, upbeat creative type I expected from the lineup. Her art flourished from a […]
Suicide Narrative
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 700,000 deaths by suicide every year. The WHO’s theme this year is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide.” I’d like to take you through a different approach than they probably intended but one that is important to me. […]
My Fourth Camp Widow
It’s been over a month since I was in San Diego for Camp Widow. Somehow in the whirlwind of the last five weeks I haven’t written much about that experience. This was my fourth camp, but it had a different feel to it for me for a few reasons. A few of my staple Camp […]
Community Grief
Content Warning: Child loss and suicide Today my heart broke. A family in my community lost their high school aged son to suicide. Details were sparse, but I knew a boy had died and he was about the same age as one of my sons. I sat with the knowledge quietly, as my head […]
Staying Busy
The last few years I’ve kept us extremely busy. Hey, at least I’m self-aware! Some of it is the stage of life I’m in with the kids. During the school year, the weekends and evenings are filled with homework, sports, and the various social functions that come with parenting school aged children. There are some […]
Releasing Some Jealousy
I often notice couples’ togetherness as I travel the spaces of my life as a single person. That’s likely because I am not wholly comfortable in my singlehood. I am independent and capable of being solo. However, I enjoyed being married and partnered. When I spot a young couple drunk on love, I feel nostalgic. […]
2800 A Day
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 […]
Four Words
It’s time for me to prep for Camp Widow in San Diego this week. There are lots of tasks to get myself ready to be away from home for almost 5 days. Packing myself, scheduling the kids with grandparents, lining out their schedules, the list goes on. Last week, I received a survey from Soaring […]
Fireworks
This is the fourth, 4th of July we’ve celebrated without Tony. It doesn’t feel as devastating as it did the first few years. While it doesn’t hurt like it did in the beginning, I still find myself thinking about him throughout the holiday. On the 4th, our youngest was recovering from a cold so we […]
Peaceful
Outside of Father’s Day a few weeks ago, I have been feeling relatively at peace. There are likely a few reasons for that feeling. The madness of the last school year is in the rearview mirror. Kid sports have winded down for a few weeks. Those two things have allowed me to take a deep […]
Car Trouble
When I purchased my new car recently, I intended to keep my old one for the kids. The old car was having some transmission issues, but I was going to have them repaired. My car had only one previous owner before myself. It seemed like a good idea to keep the vehicle in which I […]