I’ve had yet another difficult week (2024’s theme really does seem to be “personally difficult things”). My mom has what we think is a sciatica flair up. While she claims she’s not like my dad in being stubborn, she very much IS. She refused to actually go to the doctor about it, putting me in […]
Misdirected Focus
Since my dad’s passing this July, I initially didn’t have a lot of time to think and review my feelings about it all because I was helping my mom. I think scattering his ashes at sea mid October really kind of locked the reality in that he’s gone. And consequently, I’ve had more time to […]
The Day of the Dead
November 1st is a day when a number of different cultures honor their dear, departed loved ones. The most widely known of these celebrations occurs in Mexico and is called El Dia de Los Muertos — The Day of the Dead. Similar celebrations occur during the first few days of November in Guatemala, El Salvador, […]
As Time Marches On
Every now and then I’ll think about all the things in the world that have transpired since Mario made his exit from this life, big things and small. Part of his depression always included all the bad stuff happening in the world that an individual has little control over. No amount of trying to convince […]
Incomplete Grief
I recently came across the term, incomplete grief. The definitions of incomplete grief vary widely from not confronting or not willing to confront feelings of grief to feeling stuck in time and unable to grieve properly. I feel like a lot of us compartmentalize grief—put it up on a shelf so we can attend to […]
50 Things
I honestly have not been in a writing mood the past week. Usually, at some point during the week, an idea of a topic will pop into my head, but not this week. I’m still recovering from the pinched nerve issue and trying to ease back into some normal activities. I’ve discovered just how much […]
Growth
One of our favorite campgrounds is a small state park along the Oregon Coast. Mario and I happened upon it one day when we went to check out a lighthouse, which happened to be right next to it. We made some good memories in that park, including the singular outing where we happened to get […]
A Tough Week
I’m late posting, so apologies there. Since my last post, I found out that the pain I’ve been experiencing is from a pinched nerve in my neck. The fancy name is Cervical Radiculopathy. I have to say, on the pain scale, it definitely went over 10 and to date, this has been one of the […]
The Things You Let Go Of
I’ve been limping along this week with intense upper back pain, so I’ve had more forced downtime than usual. It’s inadvertently given me a lot of time to think. I actually suspect that some of this may actually be delayed fallout of my dad’s sudden passing. Since that happened, I had to shift into “helper” […]
Sentimental Things
sen·ti·men·tal /ˌsen(t)əˈmen(t)l/ adjective of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. I would say I’m a very sentimental person, especially when it comes to things I feel are nostalgic for me. I think one of the great tragedies of life is that while we’re living it, we’re not truly cognizant of how precious […]
Tales from the Tiny Trailer – Part 2
Over the last couple months, I’ve taken the tiny teardrop trailer out a few times, but I’ve also spent a lot of time making it my own by decorating it. I’ve always had a love of interior design and I like to think I have an eye for it. My own style is quite eclectic. […]
Widowed Without Kids
I’m one of the widowed people who have no children and my guess is that it’s a very different experience than those of you who lost your spouse but have kids. Even when I was a child myself, I never even thought I’d have a child of my own. Other kids (probably all girls) played […]