“Are you going to die, Mama?” Those words cut through me like a knife as my entire body went motionless. I looked at that sweet face that was looking back at me, not realizing the impact her question had on me. My mind blanked for a second, not knowing how to answer back, and then […]
Widowed Effect on Family/Friends
An Insightful Gift
Last weekend I got to spend time with one of Tony’s best guy friends. He was the best man at our wedding level bestie and someone we have both been friends with since high school. We don’t get to see each other often because life is busy when you each have 3 kids at home. […]
Thanks for “Logging” in
I sometimes wonder if I’m not boring everyone with my abundant log cabin photos and posts about my experience of running off to live in the woods not long after Rich’s passing. It’s a major part of my post-widowed experience, and my processing, however, so I write on. Next week marks the two year anniversary […]
“I want to give your kids the world.”
A repost! As the twins’ birthday trip nears I have found myself caught in a whirlwind of emotions. More so than normal. Any time I’m getting ready for a trip I find myself thinking of Erik more often than I already do. So why do I continue to do it? Because traveling also makes me […]
Why I Strive
I have volunteered to lead occasional tours of my neighborhood for out-of-town visitors. The goal of the not-for-profit organization that is sponsoring these neighborhood tours is to promote understanding among people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. I was required to submit a formal application, which is pending. However, based on my experience as a volunteer […]
Making Lemonade
It’s been 2 weeks, and I have been a bad widow, off doing widow things with this widow brain of mine. Week 1 totally spaced the Monday blog duty. Week 2, forgot to email and ask for a repost since I was out of town. Bad widow brain. Right before school started, I took the […]
No Place Like Home
Lola the Wonder Dog and I departed from home two weeks ago on a Sunday to make the six-hour drive to Craig and Donna’s lakeside place. Lola is a terrific car dog. I occasionally had to glance over my shoulder just to be sure I hadn’t inadvertently left her behind at a gas station. It […]
Care of Self – Care for Others
Finding Balance Along the Path of Grief Is it just me? Or does widowhood feel like school sometimes? Autodidactic daily learning? Today my self-led course is about balancing care for others with care for myself. Not a new course, but one of many lessons that keeps returning until I (quote) get it right? Not sure. […]
A Birthday Surprise
I recently heard from Lee’s nephew, Andy, whom I don’t talk to often. Never have, even when Lee was alive. Don’t get me wrong, Andy is a nice fellow. He is married with two kids, has a career, is much younger than I am, and has his own life. Usually, if we talk, there is […]
More Than Just Stuff
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a friendship that was falling apart. It escalated to the point that I have been unfriended on social media, and I am met with silence in public settings. Then I realized they had something of ours. I spent a lot of mental energy trying to figure out how […]
A Fiftieth Birthday Milestone
Everybody is familiar with making New Year’s resolutions. I have made – and broken—more than my fair share in seventy-four years of life. Whether these involved joining a gym or losing weight, their enduring role in people’s daily lives prompted researchers to investigate whether temporal landmarks motivate people to tackle their goals. Indeed, they found […]
My Friend is Okay, and So Am I
If history is any guide, a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, sometimes also referred to as a ministroke, will strike approximately one-quarter million Americans this year. See “A Ministroke Can Have Major Consequences” by Paula Span, found at https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/ministroke-transient-ischemic-attack-tia-major-consequences/ (5/27/25). According to the American Stroke Association, it occurs when blood flow to the brain is […]