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 […]
Widowed Therapy
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 […]
The Gift of Dog
When I first met my late husband, Rich, I understood that he was a true lover of dogs. And they loved him. He seemed to have a way with them; in command with a gentle touch. It surprised me then, that early on when I suggested that it would be nice for us to have […]
Pause
There are times when words fail when life demands pause. There are times when Life fails Humans fail Goodness fails; leaves us frozen in disbelief grasping for some yesterday that is not now. There are times of human failure when […]
When Strangers Become Family
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 […]
Rerouting the Neural Map
With this Post, I realize that I’ve officially reached my one year milestone of writing for the Widow’s Voice blog. My first Post of October1, 2022 “Pumping Gas on Ruff Roads” relayed my solo trip to New Jersey with my puppy, Quint and a small urn of Rich’s ashes in tow. I spent time at […]
The Rerouting of Plans
With my dad’s passing in April and my mom’s return to life up north, my life has changed – with my return from Camp Widow San Diego just four weeks ago, there have been some interesting developments, and as promised I will share more when I’m able. Last week I received an interesting e-mail regarding […]
Getting Meta-physical
It’s been four weeks since I’ve returned from Camp Widow in San Diego, however, the experience of that conference still resonates and inspires. It was enlightening to cross paths with nearly 600 individuals who’ve lost their spouses, or significant others; I gained knowledge, insight and growth from presenting my Writing Work Shop which only accounted […]
Music Has the Power
I feel my age every time I hear that another of my favored movie stars, television personalities or musicians has passed, but most of all I feel my age whenever the announcement concerns one of the long-haired musicians who were my contemporaries. In a span of less than two years, it’s goodbye to Robbie Robertson, […]
The “Write Tools” for Processing Grief
When I submitted my request to present at Camp Widow in Tampa and/or San Diego to Soaring Spirits International, I had a fairly good grasp of what I wanted to achieve with my presentation. When my proposal was accepted, however, I began to worry if what I had in mind would be beneficial to those […]