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 […]
A Family Vacation
Last week I was on vacation with my children and my late husband’s family. My in-laws organized the trip as an early celebration for their 50th wedding anniversary. We spent 6 days in the Outer Banks with Tony’s parents and his sister’s family. The cousins had fun together bouncing between the beach and the pool […]
Grief Is
Emily is on vacation this week enjoying some time with family. I love this post from her titled Grief Is, a poem Emily wrote near the first anniversary of Tony’s death. ~ Mary Moore Hughes Grief Is… When the sound of someone’s laugh can make you smile and cry. The heaviness your heart holds on the hardest […]
My LA Ambush
A group of widows is called an Ambush. I learned that at one of the three Camp Widow events I’ve attended. Greater than that fun fact, are the friendships I’ve built from those Camps. My home base Camp Widow has been San Diego. My first year in attendance, I almost instantly connected with three other […]
Brewing Intuition
Last Sunday I woke up in California ready to head home after spending an incredible weekend with a group of widow friends. Being a travel day, the first thing I did was check my flights. Both flights were delayed by 15 minutes. I tried to go back to sleep but something told me to keep […]
My Bad
Welp, it finally happened. After writing a Monday post for this blog 112 times, I forgot. I’m not even that mad at myself for it. In fact, I am patting myself in the back for remembering to write or have my week covered consistently for that long. Widow brain or not, I have made this […]
Favorites Saved
I let go of something this week. I removed Tony from my ‘Favorites’ list in my contacts. For three years, every time I opened my phone to make a call he sat at the top of that list. A reminder that no matter the news, I could not share it with him. It was time […]
A Heart for a Smile
My parents received an extended family photo session for Christmas. The plan was to have the pictures taken this spring. The session would include my parents, my brother and his family, and my boys and me. However, finding a spring date that aligned with all five grandkids extra-curricular activities was not easy. Admittedly, my kids’ […]
Backyard Campout
Saturday, I hosted a BBQ backyard campout with my neighborhood crew for the third anniversary of Tony’s death. We gathered in the afternoon and six family’s setup tents to spend the night. Eighteen kids between the ages of 15 and 6 played together outside for hours. An equal number of adults converged on the patio. Yep, […]
No Time
As I started to get ready for bed tonight, I realized it was Monday and I haven’t yet written anything. Our days feel so packed right now I don’t find myself looking too far forward. Which is probably why I am squeezing these posts out so late. Just under the chaos of everything, I know […]