In this part of the country, people call the dry conditions and above-normal temperatures we’ve enjoyed late into October Indian Summer. Only sticklers and killjoys would quibble that it’s not truly Indian Summer until we experience the first killing frost, which we have not. Regardless, I’ve taken advantage of this fine weather to finish many, […]
Miscellaneous
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 […]
“Remembering Moments”
It can be so bittersweet when a “remembering” pops into my brain unexpectedly. A “remembering” is when I randomly remember something about Lynn – something she loved, hated, a place she had visited, a topic she loved to talk about, etc. It can feel like being hit with a burst of inspiration or happiness, only […]
The Advocate
Earlier this week I was greeted by a Facebook post from five years ago. It was written late at night after Rich had spent several days in the hospital and I’d been trying to keep that quiet. But, with someone as outgoing and boisterous as my late husband, that was hard to do. Neighbors started […]
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 […]
Growth
We are having a true Indian Summer here in Southern Oregon with temps up into the 80s for a couple weeks now. I’m not complaining and trying to enjoy it while I can. I’ve been thinking about trying to squeeze one more camping trip in before the weather turns and was thinking about Umpqua Lighthouse […]
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 […]
100 Years, Honored With Love
My mother passed in February 2024. This Monday, October 5th would’ve marked her 100th birthday. Oh how I wish we could be celebrating that milestone and not just in spirit. My dad passed 11 months prior to her’s and I’m always grateful that she didn’t have to be a widow for too long. He […]
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 […]
Rolling on the River
This Monday, September 28th, would’ve been our 30th Wedding Anniversary. What a beautiful day it was spent with our guests on the River Queen on the Manasquan River in New Jersey. Today, while doing some cleaning out, I came upon a framed wedding photo in the drawer of a piece of furniture I am […]
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 […]
A “Weekness” for Dogs
September brings a month of mixed-emotions for me. This week for instance, I was reminded that five years ago, Rich and I were headed from Georgia to a family wedding in Virginia then on to New Jersey to help clean out our family home in New Jersey. We also made a trip to the Jersey […]