I get overwhelmed easily with “too many” of anything. Too many choices, too many words at first glance, too many ways to find my way to peace and healing. I have to back away. Take a beat. If I understood myself as an introvert earlier in my life, it is likely I could have avoided […]
Widowed Community
Death and Taxes
Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes, at least that is what they say. As a widow, I can also tell you that nothing complicates taxes like the death of your spouse. In April of 2021, our taxes had been prepared but we had not had to chance to sign and mail them […]
Pleasant Beginnings
To comprehend how far we’ve moved forward after a life-changing event, it’s helpful to take a look back. I often ask myself to recall what I was doing a year, or even more, earlier at any given time. It may be difficult, but in the end it is ultimately helpful, for better or worse. This […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part Four
How does resilience help widowed people heal? The Soaring Spirits Resilience Center research team asked widowed people to help us define resilience as it applies to the widowed experience and the results are inspiring. –Soaring Spirits Website The time I first heard about the Soaring Spirits Resilience Center in the Texas Hill Country, I wanted […]
Let The Cabin Chronicles Begin!
As I write this, I’m pulling together the final details for my latest “project”. I know many of my friends and neighbors have learned of my new venture, but as I’ve been cautious to share before I’ve signed on the dotted line, I’ve been concentrating on navigating the challenges of acquiring real estate, this […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part Three
RESILIENCE Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Being resilient does not mean a person doesn’t experience stress, emotional upheaval, and suffering. Resilience involves the ability to work through emotional pain and suffering. — Katie Hurley, LCSW The quote reminds me of the Japanese proverb that says Fall […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part Two
What Grief Adds to the Mix In talking with other introverts, many report that grief adds one more layer to navigate in the world. One more layer in addition to the fact that grief is overwhelming in and of itself. The introvert’s experience of grief is different…for me, it was almost an out-of-body experience. I […]
The Rerouting of Plans
With my dad’s passing in April and my mom’s return to life up north, my life has changed – with my return from Camp Widow San Diego just four weeks ago, there have been some interesting developments, and as promised I will share more when I’m able. Last week I received an interesting e-mail regarding […]
A Widowed Introvert: Part One
How are things different for me? We are unique widowed beings. Our widowhood contains every experience that formed us throughout our lifetime. We are widowed young, old, and in-between. It is fair to say that the unique markers that we embody is what makes our widowed experience ours alone. And (thankfully) there are uncountable ways […]
Healing Support Tools:
A Simple Dinner Party for Widowed Folk The clutter of food leftovers waiting for containers is evidence of an evening’s gift of food, conversation, kindness, and even laughter! Welcome to the Soaring Spirits Regional Social Group experience! For the first two years of widowhood my inbox featured a regular invitation to join with other widowed […]
No.
Yesterday I had a video call with some of the widows that I’ve met at Camp over the last few years. We usually keep in touch via text, but it was great to look at their faces instead of the text bubbles. Recently, one of us had solicited advice on how to handle a situation. […]
“Winding” My Own Business
It is hard for me to grasp that next month marks one year that I’ve posted here at The Widow’s Voice. Each one of the “Blogging Seven” – one writer for each day of the week – offers a personal account that has evolved around the circumstances that brought them (okay us) to the […]