My friend Jo sent me a Facebook memory. Three years ago today, I was with Rick on the Florida gulf. We were sitting with Jo watching a gorgeous sunset in Rick’s favorite spot on Madeira Beach. I sat staring at ...
Getting Eaten by Sharks After experiencing the horrible event of my husband’s stroke, my life has changed forever. When John was in the ICU after suffering a massive brain stem hemorrhage, it was constant stress and chaos for me and ...
Sunday afternoons used to be my favorite time of the week. Sunday afternoons on a chilly, gloomy fall day (as much as I HATE the approaching winter) were even better. Right about now, Rick would be ready for a nap. ...
Maybe we don't talk about the dark days enough. Maybe we don't write about them enough. That early grief, that raw mourning. Maybe once we begin to move forward through our grief journey and time passes, we simply just don't ...
Rick and I were married on July 12, 1997. He died one month after our twentieth anniversary. This Friday will mark the second time I’ve spent our anniversary alone. In a way, it’s almost the third time, because on our ...
I’ve been having issues with impatience lately. I mean, I’ve always been one to want something done ASAP. In my late teens, I remember painting my parents’ living room in one day. The room had needed a new coat of ...
I catch myself talking out loud a lot when I’m alone in the car. Luckily, nowadays, the passengers in the cars around me assume I’m on a hands-free phone, so it doesn’t seem strange to see me alone gabbing away ...
I woke up today realizing I feel more alone now than I ever have in my life. And it’s not just that I’m living alone for the first time - no parents, no child: totally alone in this quiet house. ...
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never had a serious illness or major operation, or any other traumatic physical malady. I’ve never suffered any physical affliction that required months to heal or physical therapy to get back on my feet, ...
For the past couple of months, I have been seeing all the “Ten Year Challenge” pictures. It has made me think a great deal about 22 year old me. So much so, that I dug through old photos trying to ...