Early last week a widow friend texted our widow group chat that was started after Camp Widow San Diego. She had shared with us that she needed to go to the hospital for her daughter. I was driving as I read this text and immediately my heart dropped for her. It took me right back […]
Widowed Effect on Family/Friends
The One That Got Away
Readers of these Thursday posts might recognize Crag and Donna as two of my oldest and dearest friends—our friendship dates back fifty years, and I have written about them here several times. But I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that for as long as I’ve known Craig it has been his dream to have a […]
Family Photos Minus One
Last week the kids and I went to Fort Walton Beach for a week of fun and sun. This vacation was one I planned with two other families that we are friends with. In total, we had 5 adults and 10 children. Each family rented their own condo at the complex and we managed to […]
Living with Triggers
After going through such a traumatic loss having anxiety and being scared or jumpy all seemed to be part of the package. A year and a half in those feelings are still there. They might not be as intense as they were a couple of months after Erik’s passing, but they continue to just lie […]
My Memorial Tattoo
When I wrote my first blog post for this site in March of 2022, I shared what I refer to as my widow mantra. That mantra is to Be Brave. Stay Strong. Love Hard. You can read that post here: My Widow Mantra – Widow’s Voice (widowsvoice.com) At the time, I knew I wanted to […]
Overwhelmed
Some days are just overwhelming. Wednesday night we discovered a water stain forming on the living room ceiling. I inspected the boy’s bathroom upstairs and there were no signs of water. Next, I sent a picture to my parents since they had watched my kids Tuesday night while I went to The Chicks concert. A […]
When Reality Hits
What a rollercoaster of a week it has been. Last Friday was both Erik’s and the twins’ birthdays. I used to love this day. How special it was that they shared a birthday with their father. How special Erik felt that he got his legacies as a birthday gift. Now I am conflicted about this […]
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. […]
Butterfly Fly Away
Last week I attended what I thought was my first funeral since Erik’s funeral. As I was driving up this cemetery hill something looked all too familiar. Then the flashback came. My cousin and I had driven up a similar hill for another funeral just a little over a month after Erik’s passing. I couldn’t […]
Will Weddings Always Be Hard
A fellow widow asked if weddings would always be hard for us to go to and I found myself looking back to the first wedding I attended after Tony died. It was an out-of-town wedding that took place 6 weeks after he passed. Six weeks felt so far away when I was on day 3. […]
Prepping For Camp Widow
In two days and 18 hours I will board a plane headed for Camp Widow San Diego! This will be my third camp. I’m so excited to go back and reconnect with my mighty squad of widows. I’m also looking forward to sleeping alone in a hotel room with no small humans demanding snacks. But […]
New Circles
A few weeks ago, my younger boys tried out with a competitive club soccer organization. Even though it’s a club, every kid that wants to join makes a team. Both kids happened to land on teams that have the same coach. Then, because I’m a sucker, I got roped into being the team manager for […]