To Things Previously Unseen FILM AS MEDICINE I discovered something new… when watching a favorite film recently. Its title is perfect—The Meddler, with Susan Sarandon—but the first time I watched it, I didn’t agree. The film opens directly into loneliness. Marnie, the protagonist, lies in her bed staring at the ceiling fan. A feeling hangs […]
Widowed Milestones
Happily Accepting the “Silver” Medal
This weekend marks what would’ve been my 29th Wedding Anniversary, not the 30th that I mentioned in my last post. It gave me a little laugh when I realized my widowed brain error. 29th, or 30th, no matter, it’s a bittersweet occasion, but one to always honor. So many who shared our special day, and […]
Pausing in the Badlands
A Day in the Life of a BadA** Widow Tiny pause in the series for a Badass widow story. Long story, but I found out I can leave two bags of refuse each day at the dump! I went! A kind soul at the landfill office window gave me the required orange vest to […]
A Seven Day Celebration of the Dogs that Keep Us Moving On
I realized recently that in the next few weeks, I’m nearing my three year anniversary posting for Widow’s Voice, my not-to-be achieved 30th wedding anniversary date, and the 4th anniversary of Rich’s passing. I don’t have to dig too deep to find something to write about. But, I’d be remiss if I didn’t inform that […]
The Premise of a Protected Sharing Space
The Container Part 2 of a series focusing on the benefits of a protected deep listening experience. It’s interesting which memories last the test of time in my brain. They are most often “stories” whose meanings remain current years later. This one lives in me from nearly 50 years ago. The concept of safe […]
September
September is Suicide Prevention Month, and the 10th, is World Suicide Prevention Day. Over the years my attitude towards these attempts to bring awareness has evolved. In a lot of ways, it has transformed with my grief. The first year, it made me angry. Prevention? Seriously? How could I have prevented something he kept hidden […]
Planting Roots
Last week’s post centered on how a log cabin in rural Northern Florida became my primary home and haven nearly two years after the passing of my husband. I became an official Florida resident earlier this year and recently transferred my homestead exemption to my most recent residence. With four dogs now, and an acre […]
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 Saw You There
happy birthday, my love! your 75th year took me back to when we were first wed and your dad being 50 seemed so old! i teased him calling him “half-a-century” old and he reciprocated when I turned 25 by calling me a “quarter-century” old :)) writing this story reminds me of my luck […]
Widowhood Lessons
From a Labrador Retriever Awakened by my pet at 3:00am, I moan…. “Indy. . .” “Seriously?” A refrain I speak to my pet and my widowed life regularly. On par with life, her wee-hour pee evolves, occasionally, into something more complicated if a possum, racoon, or other nighttime critter makes an appearance. This […]
“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 […]
When the Time is Right, So is the Dog
Recently, I found myself telling a good friend that dogs have often been an emotional life raft for me during challenging and lonely times, offering me a comforting space on which to rest and recover while needing to navigate the ever-changing currents of turbulent waters. First there was Hooper. In 2001, while sitting alone and […]