We each carry our grief – deal with our grief – in our own way. It’s important to know that there really is no right way for any of us to do this, so please don’t ever let someone tell you how you must do it or that you’re doing it wrong. You may choose […]
Widowed and Healing
Hi, My Name is Liliana…
THE MORNING I WALKED INTO A GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP I sat there, in my car, for what felt like an eternity. It was a cold, overcast Thursday morning in mid-February 2024, just like in the movies. I drove one hour from Washington, DC to Springfield, Virginia to attend a Loss of Spouse Grief Share support […]
Fever Nights
Wow, last week was ROUGH. When I wrote on Monday about being sick, I had no idea what I was in for. I was down for seven days with a fever of 102 I couldn’t keep under control and exhaustion. Every night, I woke up every hour or two either chilled to the bone or […]
Learning About Moving Forward from The Gilmore Girls
I love the Gilmore Girls, which originally aired from 2000 – 2007, then was revived by Netflix in a 4 episode series in 2016. The revived episodes follows the current lives of the 3 main characters (daughter, mother, and grandmother) 9 years after the original series ended. I loved most of the revived episodes. I […]
Same heart. New chapter.
On June 30, 2021, I hit “publish” with equal parts excitement and nerves. Today, I’m hitting it one last time — with a full heart. Keeping my promise to write here each Wednesday created a map of my path through grief. Nearly five years of questions, lessons, fears, laughter—feeling lost more times than I […]
My First Valentine’s Day
I never asked, but I think the Facebook post I made on my first widowed Valentine’s Day was the catalyst that led me to writing this blog. Tony died in April of 2021, and I attended my first Camp Widow in October of 2021. After Camp, I became Facebook friends with the people I’d met. […]
RIP and Cheers James Van Der Beek
I watched this video James Van Der Beek had posted a couple years ago. He was in his car, and randomly sharing a “revelation” he just had. He had just parked his car in a spot that he had waited for and was a tight fit, but was a little bit closer (a shorter walk) […]
A Valentine For You
V Very proud that you keep putting one foot in front of the other since your person left. A And how, when you fall down, you continue to get up and try again. L Love how bravery shows up for you at unexpected times . . . E Especially when you need it most. N […]
Time of Your Life
Lynn was born in Providence, Rhode Island, into a large Italian family, with heavy Massachusetts / New England accents, were devout Catholics and Red Sox fans, and – New England Patriots fans. I just came from my friends’ annual 2026 Super Bowl party, where the Patriots played (and lost horribly to) the Seahawks. I was […]
A Widowed Valentine’s Day Expression
Gratitude Flows Can we give a “widowbit” this Valentine’s Day for the widowed person who needs us? There is so much about my widowhood journey that would not have been the same if it hadn’t been for Soaring Spirits. The idea of honoring Valentine’s Day with a Member Drive feels so right to me. […]
Touch Deprivation
A friend and I were recently talking about the touch deprivation experienced in widowhood. It’s one of those extra layers of loss that not everyone thinks about. But it reminds me of everyone touting the importance of skin-to-skin contact when a new baby is born. We use touch to express affection, and I don’t mean […]
Getting Rid of Her Sentimental Items
I was watching a YouTube video about decluttering, or some similar topic. The presenter discussed how it can be difficult to get rid of items that belonged to a loved one who has passed away. I’ve watched tons of videos and read many books that talk about this, but in the video, they made a […]