Sometimes I do what I call “pressing the bruise” and look at something or do something that I know will trigger my grief or feel sad. This week, I did one of those things and I read through saved text messages with Boris. And yeah, it did hurt. Especially the messages where I was angry […]
Widowed and Healing
Social Media Memories
I have a love hate relationship with the memories section of Facebook. I love looking back at pictures of the kids when they were little. Round faces, dimpled hands, and innocence. I hate that I don’t have more pictures of Tony with the kids, or just his legs made the shot. Seeing a photo of […]
And a Little Dog Shall Lead Me
As an author who’s built a Writer’s Platform on an Observance known as National Dog Week, I’ve tried to make it my business to keep up with the myriad of holidays and observances established just to honor the pets and animals that enhance our lives. I’ve written previously about how pets are especially helpful and […]
Healing Support Tools: The Labyrinth
Labyrinths represent a journey or path to our own center and back again. The labyrinth serves as a metaphor for life’s journey. —Healing Consciousness Foundation What is a labyrinth? There are many definitions for the word “labyrinth”. One simple way to explain it is “a series of circuitous paths that lead to the center and […]
“The relationship I always wanted….”
Photo of my parents in 1961 in Córdoba, Spain – from their archives Medjool and I have just had a lovely 10 day “working break”, based mostly at my parents’ house in Céret in the Pyrénées Orientales, just inside France on the Franco-Spanish border. Now into their 80s, I try to get down to spend […]
Rollercoaster of Life
This week, I attended the 8th grade field trip to our local theme park. I was assigned a group of kids to check in with through the day, but they didn’t have to be actively chaperoned. So, with an entire day to spend in the park I found myself on a few rides. Hold on […]
Here Comes Everybody
When my children were little, our youngest son always seemed to make a friend wherever he went. The library, in the aisles of the grocery store, or even while waiting for a prescription at the pharmacy. He was wired for seeing children in his world as “little-while friends.” When I attended Camp Widow, not long […]
I wish I could better imagine…
Photos my own – taken at Christmas 2022, on runs with my dad Sometimes I stop short in my tracks and realise with desperate sadness that I can no longer imagine what my life would be like with Mike were he still alive. In the last years since he died, I have lived through what […]
Happy Dog Mom’s Day
“…in some magical way, time seems to stand still for our canines, and that they will love, need, and appreciate you, fur-ever.” With the passing of my father two weeks ago, I’ve been occupied with many family matters and trying to help my mother who is now one of the 800,000 people who become widowed […]
What number of miracles brings us to this place?
For 15 years, I worked in the development department of a local non-profit and I remember the needs of the community far outweighing the funds available to support the folks in need. So, it warmed my heart this past Saturday to witness an evening where hope soared. Soaring Spirits International successfully hosted an inspiring fundraiser […]
Funeral Attendance
I went to a funeral this morning. That right there could be the whole post, right? Two years later and it’s still hard to sit through one without transporting myself back in time. The funeral was for a relative of Tony’s who I didn’t know that well. Therefore, I was there as a supporter versus […]
A Life Well-lived
Last Saturday, at 2:45am I received a phone call. I could tell by the sender that it brought the inevitable news that my father had passed. My dad had been under hospice care for approximately three weeks, and although the circumstances of their passings differed, it struck me that both he and Rich had […]