Two years ago today, my mom passed in New York while I was enroute to see her from Florida. She’d suffered a stroke three months earlier in November, just seven months after the passing of my father. She passed peacefully in the presence of family. She also passed knowing of the “bold” move from my […]
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The “Ruff” Road Forward
I’m mindful that the major holiday for celebrating love occurs on my day to post for Widow’s Voice. It isn’t an easy one for the widowed population to say the least. The other day I imagined a Timeline of Personal Love Stories. A visualtion that might help those who still have their spouses and partners […]
A Win-Win Situation
I begin this post with a disclamer. I do not, nor ever have, been employed by the supermarket chain Winn Dixie, nor did I write the book Because of Winn Dixie, although it’s a great dog story. That honor belongs to the incredible children’s author Kate DiCamillo. I am, however, the loving dog mom to […]
Early To Rise
It’s early here in Tucson, where, at this time of year, it stays dark until after six a.m. I find it hard to get up in the dark, even when I’ve had enough sleep. Something about the darkness compels me to stay in bed a while longer. The clock on my computer announces that it’s […]
Moving “4”ward Year by Year
It occurs to me that yesterday, January 30th, was the 6th anniversary of the closing of the home my late-husband, Rich, and I purchased in 2020 in St. Marys, GA. It was an exciting time with the promise of a happy future. It also happens to be Rich’s birthday next week, on February 4th, the […]
Taking Off Our Matching Rings
I remember the various milestones in the past 11 years, regarding when I took off certain significant pieces of jewelry. The matching ring that I wore on my ring finger that Lynn and I had that represented our forever union – I took that off in various spurts. I stopped wearing mine after a year […]
Nomadic Musings
Lately, for some reason, I’ve been especially nostalgic for my home state of New Jersey. Maybe it’s the news coverage and all the dire forecasts of the meterologists that have that state, and many others, under warnings for a storm of historic proportions currently spreading across the nation and set to paralyze normal life this […]
The Thrill Is Gone
Lola and I arrived in Tucson late Tuesday afternoon. It’s not exactly a hop, skip, and jump from our home to sunny Arizona, with stops along the way in Springfield, Elk City, and Albuquerque. Our trip covered three nights plus a full day’s drive. *** I was thinking about our first trip here. This prompted […]
Welcome To My Museum of Stuff
During the second week of January, I found myself returning to the home in Georgia that my late-husband Rich and I purchased six years ago. There, I continued to curate what I call the My Museum of Stuff, a third garage where a collection of family nostalgia and items that belonged to Rich are stored. […]
Revisiting Old New Year’s Resolutions
It’s another New Year, so I am naturally thinking about resolutions… “goals” for 2026. Hopes, dreams, accomplishments, etc. This made me start thinking about things on Lynn and my “Bucket List” that we never completed. One big one that was on the list forever was to travel to Europe – specifically to Italy, where her […]
Tripping Around the Sun
The New Year has started out eventful. As the days grow slightly longer, they seem to be less heavy and lighter on all levels. I, too, feel the collective relief that those widowed often feel when the holiday season comes to an end. Even those who’ve moved forward with new life chapters feel the weight […]
Unexpected Havens
Writing this in Real Time early New Year’s Day. At precisely 12:01am, I experienced a deep sense of relief that 2025 had concluded softly without the loss of an immediate family member. I lost Rich in late 2021, my nephew who was the son of my late sister in May 2022 and my father and […]