My Dearest Alex, Today marks 11 months of your passing, and it still feels like it happened yesterday. I miss you greatly my love, but I wanted to write this love letter to thank you for all that you gave me. So I want to start by saying thank you for loving me unconditionally every day of your life. From the moment we met, to the last words you…
gratitude
A Piece of You
I felt my heart stop when your heart stopped beating I felt the air in my lungs leave my body, when you took your last breath I felt the world crumbling down on my chest, with every shock wave that went through yours I was an empty vessel walking above ground, while yours lays down in the soil empty as well I cried storms of sorrow, while rain…
One Word
I was asked recently to speak at an AA meeting in my old community in NJ. I’ll be traveling there at the end of this week. It’s been 3 years since I’ve connected with family and friends there. Family and friends who knew Chuck, who knew me when I was with Chuck. Memories will hit hard. I’m not trying to set myself up for that; I’m merely…
Smile
He loved my smile. And, let me tell you, I smiled a lot because of him. I loved my life – when he was in it. I wore my smile like a permanent accessory because my life was beautiful. Our joy permeated the air around us. Our laughter echoed off every one near us. Our words to one another were always heartfelt. We looked at each other with a…
Facade
Photo credit: opticalillusionphotos.blogspot.ca It’s been almost fifteen months since Mike died and people around me presume that I am adjusting to life without him. With no experience to draw on, most people believed that the bereaved heal with time. As you know, this is not completely correct. Grief is an active process. With every…
Smiling Through the Tears
I don’t really have anything particular to write about this week. No news on the house, work is going, school is going. In the middle of it all, I am feeling that ring of sadness around it all. Sad that my life has changed so much as a result of losing Mike, sad that he isn’t here to share it with anymore, sad that my future will not include…
Gratitude and Perspective
The “big day” was this past Friday, the court date for the preliminary hearing for my foreclosure mediation. And it was just a lot of build up for nothing. It got postponed until June 17. Some guy who was supposed to be there wasn’t and the judge wasn’t happy…ultimately I think it’s going to look good for me. My friend Sarah went…
What I Can’t Tell you~
I feel compelled, now that I’ve passed the 3 year mark of my widowhood (as of April 21), to write one of those numbered lists of what helped me get through to this mark… Really, honestly, though, I couldn’t tell you how I’ve gotten here. All I can tell you is that I look in the mirror at myself and ask how the FUCK have you done this? How…
Inspiration
At work the other day I was chatting with one of the young ladies who works at the coffee shop across the way. I had mentioned my late husband in conversation and this girl, young enough to be my daughter, immediately expressed her sorrow for me and went on to tell me about her beloved stepfather who died five years ago. She said he had been her…
The Things We Carry
“They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak.” from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien This quote is from a story by Tim O’Brien about men who were in the Vietnam war. It is a classic story that speaks to the universal themes of memory and loss. As I…