So, as you are all probably tired of me saying and tired of reading about, I was unable to attend Camp Widow Tampa and do my presentation this year, which is/was this weekend. Right about now, as I write this, campers are gathering inside the Marriott Hotel for the Farewell Breakfast Brunch – taking some […]
camp widow
My friend Faye
So yesterday I found out that a woman who was/is part of the Soaring Spirits widowed community, has died. Her name is Faye Beck Fleming, and I found out when another friend in the widowed community, Alison, private messaged me and told me. At the time, I was in my car driving home from the […]
ONE WIDOW’s ABC’s
FROM THE CAMP WIDOW EXPERIENCE A – ALLOWING myself to need help was harder to do than one might think. It allowed me to receive. B – BY the time I arrived at my second camp, it was not long before I found a familiar face and a warm hug. C – CARING for myself […]
THE WONDER OF A CAMP FOR WIDOWED PEOPLE
The Wonder of Peer Support. This past weekend, I attended Camp Widow as a newly widowed person where you immediately feel that people understand your feelings. Peer support is the “process of giving and receiving encouragement and assistance to achieve long-term recovery.” Peer supporters “offer emotional support, share knowledge, teach skills, provide practical assistance, and […]
Not What you Think~
I wish I could post the meme here that had me snorting water through my nose I laughed so hard. Alas! I keep getting an error note, so I’ll have to describe it and you envision it for yourself, okay? The meme was 3 shrouded in black figures, riding one of the old timey merry go rounds. The kind made of metal, and you’d hang on desperately as…
Window to Grieve
One week ago, we wrapped up what was easily the busiest Camp Widow I’ve ever taken part in. In two days, it will be the five year anniversary of Megan’s death. Winter has blown into northeast Ohio early this year, with our first snow coming in before the leaves had even had the chance to fall off of the trees. The holidays will be here…
Caretaker
I’ve always felt that, 5 years after Megan’s death, I wouldn’t feel like a widow anymore. Not counting those first few months, when I swore up and down that my life was over and that I would never, ever move forward or be able to love again, I consider myself very realistic. I have a stable career. Shelby is and always has been…
Loss Connections
Next week I will be attending Camp Widow in Toronto, Canada. I will be presenting two workshops there. One is my usual “My Husband Is Not a Rainbow” comedic presentation about grief and loss. The other is called “Widowed Improv.” Basically, we will be playing fun improvisation theatre games. With widowed people. This will be the 3rd or 4th…
Hello Goodbye
Since the spring of 2015, I have written here every Tuesday (well, “most” every Tuesday). I’ve shared my story from just a few months after losing Megan, to now. Having four plus years of what can only amount to a public “journal” has been both surreal and incredibly healing. Oftentimes, it’s hard to recall just how “raw” I…
When Things are Hard …
Things are hard. Life is hard. Sometimes I am convinced that life is much harder for some than for others. Sometimes it feels like I can never get a break. Sometimes it feels like I will always struggle and things will always be really hard, and that is just how my life will be. I dont know. None of this is fact. Just feelings. …
Call Me Anytime
I watched the first episode of a new show on Netflix this morning called Dead to Me. In the episode, two women meet at a grief group, both widows. They end up building a new friendship as late night phone buddies since neither of them are able to sleep. The show goes on to take a lot of unexpected twists and turns (and believe me you should so…
It Never Gets Old
Being a widow – it gets old really fast. There are days and weeks and hours where I want to scream out to the universe or whoever cares: “IM SO OVER THIS!!! WHEN WILL THIS WIDOW THING END???” But it wont end. He will always be dead, so I will always be his widow. And truly, it is my honor, because it means we are forever connected. But…