Today, April 20th, is the fifth anniversary of Tony’s death. Yesterday I thew a huge party in his honor. (More on that next week.) As a result, my heart is both empty and overflowing with love. I had a soul cleansing cry at the end of the night (which was technically today). It was good […]
Widowed Milestones
The House That Won’t Let Go
I know I’ve been writing alot about my home in Georgia lately. It was the home that my late husband, Rich, and I purchased at the beginning of 2020. It still strikes me as how big an adjustment it was for us to move from our homestate of New Jersey to a gated community […]
Right Before
Isn’t it weird to look back on the week before their passing? Depending on the circumstances of their death, that week has a kaleidoscope of events across our widowhoods. For us, life was thrumming along. Spring was coming but the last dregs of winter were holding on. Kids sports were getting ready to hit full […]
The Many ‘Hoods of the Widowed
This past week had its ups and downs. My home in Georgia that is currently on the market received an offer, but as so often happens in this process, things didn’t work out. I recall when Rich and I closed on that home in 2020 and we hadn’t sold our home in New Jersey yet. […]
Small Change and “Small” Moments
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, a holiday that has always been one of my favorites. It’s a time of renewal and hopeful warmer days. This past week we celebrated the first anniversary of acquiring Winnie, the puppy I brought home after a visit to our local Winn Dixie. Hard to believe a year has gone by […]
Six Months
Even though it’s a bit cloudy, it’s a pretty lovely day here in the desert. My roses are budding and blooming, leaves have returned to the trees, there’s a soft breeze, 83 degrees. Spring has most definitely arrived. And it’s been six months since Jim died. He created this beautiful backyard, so I always […]
A Party to Plan
This week we turn the calendar to April. Once again, I will find myself in the month that Tony passed. What feels crazy to me is that this year will be the 5th anniversary of his death. Five years is bananas. It’s hard to believe that much time has passed. A month or so ago, […]
The Loss of Future Memories
One of the things that makes our people “our people,” is the million things we know about them that few / no one knew, and – as importantly, the million things they knew about us that no one else knew. We were also “each other’s people” because of the special 1:1 memories we had, the […]
Anniversary Missives
St. Patrick’s Day was/is Tony and my wedding anniversary. This year, we should have been celebrating our 19th. Instead, we are always stuck at 14. Walking through the wedding anniversary grief always hits a little different. It is a striking reminder of our widowhood coupled with their death. The other big days, like their birthday […]
Springing Forward
Yesterday welcomed the first official day of spring and for many it didn’t come soon enough. This winter has been a beast and judging from last week’s storm in Michigan where snow seemed to swallow houses and cars whole, winter isn’t lying down quite yet. Being from the Northeast originally I always understood that although […]
Livin’ On a Prayer
I spent a good portion of this past week at my now unoccupied home in Georgia. It’s up for sale and I continue to clean out the garages. The “downside” of a third garage is that there is more opportunity to store and thus hang on to items. It’s a museum of memories, a curated […]
The Daze of a Week
The first week of March brought a strong sense of nostalgia. When I was prompted to grab my phone and to access my archived memories on Facebook early Monday morning, I realized that on that day, 8 years ago, my sister passed after a long illness. Today was her Service I’m also reminded. I remember […]