Have you heard of the

Boulevard of Broken Dreams?

I think that a lot of widows would agree that at least some portion of their grief journey has been spent there, lamenting, listing the losses, and looking toward an uncertain future ahead on the path in which they have no idea what to hope for or hold as life’s dreams and goals anymore. When a loss of this magnitude touches you in the early stages of life, when you feel like you are “just starting out,” then you find there are an awful lot of broken dreams to take inventory of. Like me, you may even feel like you can’t quite move yourself away from staring at the broken pieces and rehashing the losses and the pain found at the Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

You may find that just about anything can push into the pain of the loss of the life you had longed for. My boys and I recently met up with a fellow Mama and her daughters for a playdate and it was striking to me that a great divide seems to be drawn between me and my pile of broken dreams and those who have the privilege to continue dreaming their dreams and making their plans together. This married Mom would say “We do this tradition or my husband and I plan this….” to which I could only counter “We used to “ or “He and I wanted to” It is heart breaking when you realize the past tense and the present tense seem to separate you to some degree with most everyone. The planners and dreamers who can make their reality continue to press on into joyful futures and dreams fulfilled while there are many of us whom can’t continue even though every fiber of us is crying out to keep dreaming those dreams and living that life we loved with the man we cherished.

It seems that a requirement for grief to progress is being able to accept those broken dreams. In the Christian faith, this is sometimes referred to as submitting your will to God’s or surrendering your plans to Him. In my experience, it is incredibly difficult. Knowing He is good and He is love helps but doesn’t magically erase the present ache of all the dreams that could never come to be.

Have you ever spent time at the Boulevard of Broken Dreams?

In Hope & Prayers,

This Widow Mama

Save the dates! Join us for the 2024 Widows of Hope 5K, taking place May 10-12! This annual initiative encourages activity while raising awareness for the 245 million widowed women worldwide and honoring loved ones. Additionally, May 3rd, National Widows Day, when we’ll reopen applications for our Restoring Hope and Peace Grant. Learn more here:

and continue to lookout on all our social media platforms for updates.

About Dorothy Swanson

Dorothy lost her beloved husband Oct 2021 to a very unexpected bacterial pneumonia that quickly became septic shock. Her other half and best friend was born with a serious congenital heart defect. Because of that, she had always feared the possibility of being a widow, but she thought it more likely to be due to his heart, and more likely when her husband was in his 50s after the children were grown. Instead, he graduated to heaven just one week before turning 34. Dorothy was 36 with young sons ages 5 and 16 months who adored their Daddy. In less than 48 hours, the life Dorothy and her beloved husband so carefully built together shattered. They were blessed to share just over 8 wonderful, joyous and fun years of marriage. While her heart is so thankful to God for having had their journey together, she has struggled since his death with feeling hurt and let down by God. She has felt so devastated that their love story was short and ended so abruptly. Join her as she shares her unfolding journey of grasping to faith in Christ as she journeys through love, loss, single parenthood, honoring her husband's legacy and guiding her sons through their grief and life without Daddy.