I’ve mentioned before that I remain young at heart, despite advancing age. However, for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been experiencing an unusual, mildly alarming health issue that has shaken my confidence a bit. I can’t get into the particulars, but it suffices to say I am considering how I change my wicked ways […]
Widowed Therapy
Labs and Wolves:
PART two We all come from somewhere, right? When I got an adorable puppy, a Labrador Dog, apparently I also got a Labrador Wolf. The tiny face looking up at me with innocent eyes evolved from a sobering game of stayin’ alive: the message from her wolf forbears. Becoming a kick-ass Lab is in […]
Staying Busy
The last few years I’ve kept us extremely busy. Hey, at least I’m self-aware! Some of it is the stage of life I’m in with the kids. During the school year, the weekends and evenings are filled with homework, sports, and the various social functions that come with parenting school aged children. There are some […]
Feeling all the Feels
How Grief Impacts Feelings At age 26, I received a helpful definition for feelings. You may be thinking that could be a bit late in life to receive information about something that impacts life on a daily basis and you would be right. Regardless of timing, I gratefully received this definition. “Feelings are spontaneous, inner […]
My LA Ambush
A group of widows is called an Ambush. I learned that at one of the three Camp Widow events I’ve attended. Greater than that fun fact, are the friendships I’ve built from those Camps. My home base Camp Widow has been San Diego. My first year in attendance, I almost instantly connected with three other […]
My Bad
Welp, it finally happened. After writing a Monday post for this blog 112 times, I forgot. I’m not even that mad at myself for it. In fact, I am patting myself in the back for remembering to write or have my week covered consistently for that long. Widow brain or not, I have made this […]
On Location!
As I’ve relayed in previous posts, in February I traveled from Florida to my brother’s home in New York State with the urgent news that my mother was not doing well. I understood that this would most likely be my last visit with her. Unfortunately, I learned of her passing while on a layover in […]
The “He(a)ling” Power of The Paw
My mom passed just a little over a month ago and I’m feeling that loss more strongly these days. It seems to compound the other losses experienced by myself and my family over the past two and a half years. I especially feel it in the early evening when she’d always call me like clockwork. […]
Stopping to Refuel
I’ve enjoyed the bit of cold temperatures that we “endured” for a few weeks in Central Florida. Cold is relative state. While my friends and family in the north deal with temps in the 30s, a “cold” day here is in the low 50s, with 30s in the evening, but that’s fleeting. But here we […]
Entering My Cat Lady Era
Welp. I am no longer a cat lady without any cats. A week and a half ago I caved and said yes to adopting a cat. The cat belonged to my friend’s mom who passed away a little over a month ago. My friend reached out after his mom took a turn for the worst. […]
Pursuing the Practical:
What do I need in this moment? Along the path of grieving, I’ve found many practical and proactive steps I can take to avoid trauma and to tune into my needs on a daily basis. With therapy, books, and good teachers along the way, I am learning to respond to what my body, mind, and […]
Playing Catch and Grief Release
Every parent has their own strengths and weaknesses they bring to the co-parenting table. I can help whip up a book report, swim the fly, and memorize lines for the school play. Those are my core strengths. Tony was the master of math, even common core and fractions, and all hand eye coordination sports. Most […]