It is my third Thanksgiving without my late husband Ray. Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday. He was too ill to enjoy it the last two years of his life. He really was not himself, the man on whom I depended to be the life of the party.

Thanksgiving will never be the same for me or my family. Of course, it will never be the same for anyone who has lived with the passing of a loved one, be it a spouse, parent, grandparents, child or whomever it is. One thing I am learning is that life is constantly changing. I am also learning that I can fight and resist or try to deny certain changes in life, but, as much as I may want to, I still have no power to change the past. So, I choose to accept and embrace the changes as I also embrace new traditions of traveling and spending time with lifelong friends.
Letting go of old traditions neither invalidates them nor the joy that they brought to my life. I have wonderful memories that are the foundation upon which I am building new traditions, based upon the same principles of love, family, and friends. Ray was and always will be a part of that for me.

I am grateful for my past, my present, and my future!

Cathy Nelson

My husband of 36 years passed away in August 2012 after a five year battle with cancer. I have 4 children, and 7 grandchildren. I have embraced my life journey, it’s not the journey I planned, and yet, I find that hope makes this journey possible. Cathy Nelson Cathy Nelson

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