[Today I’m revisiting an article published around this same time last year.] Going back to the start of 2021, I have been volunteering my time on Thursdays at a local food pantry that serves our community. I am off today, however, because we are closed on Thanksgiving, which seems more than a bit ironic given […]
Event Horizon
My nephew Kevin has two kids, eleven-year-old Alyssa, and her twelve-year-old brother Nathan. For reasons I’ve never understood, a few years ago Alyysa decided that she was going to adopt a new first name. Today “Alex” is the only moniker that she will answer to. Not to be outdone, Nathan thereafter abandoned his given name […]
A New Leaf
Robyn and I were planning a weekend trip to visit my old and dear friends, Craig and Donna, whom I’ve mentioned here multiple times Robyn made this trip with me once previously. She is a good sport about such things. In any case, a few days before our departure Craig called to tell me that […]
Young Woman Seeks Friend
My friend’s daughter called this past week. I have known the young woman her whole life. Our connection runs deep. As with several other of my closest friends’ children, I’m the avuncular outsider. Within her own family, my friend’s daughter has long been its most sensible and grounded member. As a measure of family dysfunction, […]
The Journal
Yesterday, as part of a seemingly endless project to cull and organize my personal papers, I came across several items of particular interest. One of these was a blue notebook with several pages of Lee’s handwriting that I had not looked at carefully until yesterday. The notebook looked like Lee had intended for it to […]
Decluttering
“Decluttering” seems all the rage these days. Just check the internet, which contains enough information and articles on the phenomenon to easily fill an entire basement and a garage: spend an hour, a day, a week discovering for yourself the “10 Rules,” the “27 Simple Steps,” the “50 Strategies,” ad nauseam. The hype surrounding the […]
Cast Adrift
September 25th was Mallory’s birthday. Mallory is Andy’s daughter and Lee’s youngest great niece. Mallory’s brother, Tobey, is a year older. I sent her timely birthday wishes thanks to a special occasions list that Lee created, which I first came across after she passed. These days I try to keep up with birthdays, anniversaries and […]
My Apologies
After spending considerable time preparing a new article for this week’s blog, it appears I inadvertently destroyed my work scant moments before I had planned to hit the “publish” button. I don’t know how I have managed to do this. I must assume that I didn’t “save” my work correctly. Worse, being a technological boob […]
Turnover
I saw that Bryan, until just recently our Saturday contributor, has announced his retirement from his spot on this Blog and introduced his successor. He is not the first. There is precedent for how such things are handled at the Widow’s Voice blog. It is fast approaching two years that I stepped into my current […]
Sneaky Grief
Information and advice for grieving survivors concerning “grief triggers” is both abundant and easy to find. However, much of the stuff I have seen seems directed to teaching how one can brace against the effects of grief, focusing on such major milestones as birthdays, anniversaries, holiday celebrations and the like. Considering my own case, as […]
Push and Pull
In 2023 I am going to overwinter in the desert. This week a whiff of Fall in the air prompted me to start my travel research. Of course, I knew my destination but not how best to get there. I was looking for a safe and convenient route for me and Lola the pup that […]
Revisiting My Tears
Earlier this week I sat down at the computer, intending to pound out an article about Labor Day being the unofficial end of Summer, but could not get past the vision I was having of Lee: I’m watching her and just then she opens those soft and large brown eyes I’d grown to love and […]