One of Lynn and my favorite restaurants recently closed. It was a neighborhood Italian restaurant, and when Lynn passed, the owned gave me a bottle of wine as a condolence gift. Lynn judged Italian restaurant based on how good their eggplant parmesan was, and this restaurant passed her test on our first visit. We went […]
Widowed Memories
Party Hostess
Tony and I always loved opening our home and hosting friends. We hosted both large and small gatherings, finding joy in both kinds of camaraderie. Since his passing, I haven’t hosted as much as we used to. It’s hard to be a solo parent, juggling all that comes with that, and finding the time to […]
Memorial Day Musings. Corpsman Up!
Another holiday weekend looms and I know even two day ordinary weekends bring emotional struggles for the widowed population. These occasions are often hollow reminders of what is no longer. No matter where we stand on the timeline of grief, none of us can escape the memories of past holidays, for better or worse, each […]
Resting in Peace
Our Own Way We wish for our person to rest in peace—what about us? Are there moments of peace that we create for ourselves? Grief follows us like a shadow. No matter where we turn it can show up. Up close and personal. First thing in the morning, as we stretch from the night’s […]
Solo Motherhood
As summer draws near and we are at the finish line for yet another school year, the weight of being a solo parent has been even more apparent lately. First, it started with research and enrollment for kindergarten. The official public school days are about to begin, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. […]
Sundays are the Most Nostalgic
Sunday afternoons are sometimes still the most nostalgic and bittersweet times. I frequently have packed weekends, often a little too “peopley.” And it is a relief to get to Sunday evening, to pause, rest, and get into that somewhat resistant mindset of, “the weekend is over and Monday is looming.” My bones still remember with […]
Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
“Who says you can’t go home?” asks the lyrics of a song written by New Jersey natives, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Two weeks ago, I made a trek to my home state of New Jersey for a quick visit with some friends and to attend a class reunion. I’d looked forward to returning […]
A 2012 Facebook Post . . .
. . . how I’m doing on that list. Some 13 years past, the Facebook posts saved as “memories” are interesting to read. My Grandmother passed away at 83 on Holy Saturday. My Aunt Cissie passed away at 99 on Good Friday (April 6, 2012 at 5am). That leaves Easter Sunday for me at 105…when […]
New Traditions
(Originally posted this in 2024 for Mario’s birthday. I didn’t get to really celebrate this year because I had too many client meetings that day, but am hoping to pick the tradition back up next year.) Just about anyone who’s lost someone will tell you that birthdays of that lost person are tough. Birthdays just […]
Jillian
I learned that Jillian had been a daughter, a sister, a mother, and a wife. I also learned that Jillian had died young after cancer got her. I learned this last Saturday, while attending the posthumous celebration of her life with Robyn. I never met Jillian in life. The celebration was held in a large […]
The Season of Time
What is time, anyway? Time is how we measure and make sense of change. At its core, time is a concept we use to track the sequence and duration of events. It’s how we understand that one thing happens before or after another and how long things last. -Chatgpt Time is both strict and magical. […]
Forward to the Past
When Rich and I first moved to our home in St. Marys, GA in January 2020, the first movie that we watched together was Back to the Future. I was so surprised when it was revealed that Doc Brown’s numerical address was the exact same as our’s – 1640! What were the chances of […]