It’s time for me to prep for Camp Widow in San Diego this week. There are lots of tasks to get myself ready to be away from home for almost 5 days. Packing myself, scheduling the kids with grandparents, lining out their schedules, the list goes on. Last week, I received a survey from Soaring […]
Widowed Community
Grief Is
Emily is on vacation this week enjoying some time with family. I love this post from her titled Grief Is, a poem Emily wrote near the first anniversary of Tony’s death. ~ Mary Moore Hughes Grief Is… When the sound of someone’s laugh can make you smile and cry. The heaviness your heart holds on the hardest […]
Writing On
This past week my plans took me to another rural community about an hour from here. There, I happened to have a conversation with a young man who was just trying to get by. As he spoke I sat in my car and listened to his story. Sometimes that is all someone needs – […]
My LA Ambush
A group of widows is called an Ambush. I learned that at one of the three Camp Widow events I’ve attended. Greater than that fun fact, are the friendships I’ve built from those Camps. My home base Camp Widow has been San Diego. My first year in attendance, I almost instantly connected with three other […]
Brewing Intuition
Last Sunday I woke up in California ready to head home after spending an incredible weekend with a group of widow friends. Being a travel day, the first thing I did was check my flights. Both flights were delayed by 15 minutes. I tried to go back to sleep but something told me to keep […]
My Bad
Welp, it finally happened. After writing a Monday post for this blog 112 times, I forgot. I’m not even that mad at myself for it. In fact, I am patting myself in the back for remembering to write or have my week covered consistently for that long. Widow brain or not, I have made this […]
“Ruff” and Random Thoughts
Last week I wrote about the one year anniversary of the passing of my dad on April 29. Then I realized there was another milestone of sorts. April 28th marked the two and a half year point of my Widowhood. I guess it’s good that I wasn’t so fixated on this milestone, but it made […]
A Heart for a Smile
My parents received an extended family photo session for Christmas. The plan was to have the pictures taken this spring. The session would include my parents, my brother and his family, and my boys and me. However, finding a spring date that aligned with all five grandkids extra-curricular activities was not easy. Admittedly, my kids’ […]
In the Shadow of the Anniversary
Year Three My imagination moves toward the clouds when I think of Dan. In the early days, I explored the clouds with curiosity and searched for him there. This particular cloud image is meant to show me past the event, so I selected one with light, shadow, darkness and clouds. The death-day passed with hard […]
April Again
Today marks the beginning of another April. This is THE month for me, the one we lost Tony. Last week I was chatting with a friend, and she asked me how I was feeling with the anniversary coming up soon. Also noting that it will be 3 years and how many people told me that […]
The “He(a)ling” Power of The Paw
My mom passed just a little over a month ago and I’m feeling that loss more strongly these days. It seems to compound the other losses experienced by myself and my family over the past two and a half years. I especially feel it in the early evening when she’d always call me like clockwork. […]
The Art of Camp Widow
I choose art media like I choose sandwiches. I go with my favorite. The sure thing. What I love the most — Collage. Creating through collage requires bringing many things together into a whole. Like community, it feels like “Here comes everybody!” or, better, “Here come all the things.” This was Camp Widow Tampa, 2024. […]