• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Widow's Voice

Widow's Voice

  • Soaring Spirits
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Categories
  • Authors
    • Grace Villafuerte
    • Emily Vielhauer
    • Dianne West Garvey
    • Liliana Henao Holmes
    • Gary Ravitz
    • Sherry Holub
    • Lisa Begin-Kruysman

I Demand a Full Refund 💵

Posted on: July 15, 2026 | Posted by: Liliana Henao Holmes

I Did Not Order This Life 📦

Nope! not even by mistake. I want my old life back.

I want a full refund. Please credit my original life.

Week started as a downer for all three of us, each for different reasons.

Our daughter was devastated because she finally landed a gymnastics skill she’d been working on for months. But when she tried it again at home, she couldn’t do it. Big heartbreak. Big tears.

“This is so unfair! I’ve been working so hard, and I finally got it. Now I can’t do it! I lost it! I hate my brain! I don’t want to do gymnastics anymore!”. She was utterly heartbroken.

Our son couldn’t get himself onto a summer schedule and was feeling incredibly unproductive, which quickly spiraled into a bad place mentally. Anxiety. Racing thoughts. Frustration. Anger.

As for me? I was completely drained. So much so that I had to take a nap early Monday afternoon, something I rarely do because my body usually refuses to cooperate.  Planning for and getting thru even simple holidays like the Fourth of July are still incredibly hard. His absence in our lives is still so loud. No matter how hard I try to muffle it with distractions, it’s still deafening.

If It’s Not One Thing… 🤬

Tuesday, my son and I headed to a big parking lot to practice driving. Even though he’s 17 (almost 18!), and we both want him to get his license, neither of us had the mental or emotional bandwidth to tackle it last year. As I was turning into the parking lot, there was a huge semi-truck blocking part of the entrance. Trying to squeeze around it, I hit the curb. I stopped. “Mami… the tire!” 🛞

It had been slashed by the curb and was deflating fast. “Get back in the car,” I said and I drove us to the nearest gas station so they could put on the spare. Well… there went our driving practice. My boy looked at me, completely defeated.

“Of course this happens to us.”

Once we made it home, we had one of those long, deep, brutally honest conversations. The kind where there are long pauses because both of you are trying not to cry. We both cried anyway. And we agreed that this sucks!

“I’m tired of just surviving, Mami. We’re trying so hard. Are we ever going to thrive again?”

“I hope so,” I told him. “I’ve been told it’s possible. I have to believe that one day we won’t just survive. We’ll thrive again. What’s the alternative, right?”.

Because if I stop believing that… I don’t know how this story ends.

So… You know those movies and TV shows where, one year after their spouse dies, the widow or widower has rebuilt their life, found new love, and the whole blended family is magically thriving again?

Total rip-off. I want my money back!

Return Request 👩🏻‍💻

Reasons for Return:

Let’s see, where do I start…

  • This life is definitely too big/too heavy. It does not fit well.
  • It arrived in terrible condition.
  • Not as expected because, shocker, I did NOT expect this life.
  • Some very important people are missing.
  • This life is defective and I no longer need it.
  • The wrong life was sent.
  • Both the the life and the shipping box are badly damaged.
  • The website description of widowhood was wildly inaccurate.
  • I no longer need or want this life.

I want a full refund. Please credit my original life. You know, the one with my husband.

The one with our happy, loud, loving, fun, slightly crazy, mildly dysfunctional familia of cuatro 4.

That’s the one I ordered ❤️‍🩹

 

One of my favorite pictures of us

Hasta la próxima! Until next time ✌🏼 Peace.

Categories: Widowed, Widowed Parenting, Widowed Emotions, Widowed by Illness, Uncategorized

About Liliana Henao Holmes

HOLA, Bienvenid@s!
Welcome to this Widowed Warriors Wednesday corner, where I pour my bleeding heart out each week. I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m so sorry that you had to.

On December 3, 2023, my beautiful husband, Horace Riley Holmes Jr., died after living fully for three years with terminal brain cancer. I don't have to tell you this, but life since has been a journey of grief, rebirth, and learning how to breathe again.
Who am I? That is a great question! And one I’m still answering in the aftermath of utter loss and devastation. This is what I got so far: I’m a mostly sane, youngish widowed mom to two amazing teen humans (most days 😄) and one sweet Border Collie/Lab mix 🐾. I’m learning how to live fully again, one small, slow step at a time.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, raised in Mexico, and now rooted in the USA, I’m a journalist by trade, storyteller by heart, and a dancer, singer, and comedian in my dreams. I love salsa 💃🏽, laughter 😂, the beach 🏝️, deep friendships 🥰, and I am intentional about creating moments of joy.
My kids are my world. Faith, Framily, and Fun are my anchors. Most days, I choose to keep dancing, laughing, and living. And sometimes, I sit in the suck. Both are sacred.

I hope my sharing brings comfort and validation to your journey.

Would you say hola in the comments? I’d love to know your name, where you’re reading from, and the name of your person. Or simply share whatever you need to get off your chest. I'm ready!

🖤🤍❤️‍🩹 Wanna get in touch? Email [email protected] 🖤🤍❤️‍🩹

Primary Sidebar

Footer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Categories
  • Authors

SSI Network

  • Soaring Spirits International
  • Camp Widow
  • Resilience Center
  • Soaring Spirits Gala
  • Widowed Village
  • Widowed Pen Pal Program
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Contact Info

Soaring Spirits International
2828 Cochran St. #194
Simi Valley, CA 93065

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 877-671-4071

Soaring Spirits International is a 501(c)3 Corporation EIN#: 38-3787893. Soaring Spirits International provides resources with no endorsement implied.

Copyright © 2026 Widow's Voice. All Rights Reserved.