“Mrs. Johnson, we have to ask you to make a decision today,” the soft-spoken chaplain said as she offered me a box of tissues. It was at that very defining moment that I wanted to quit. Up until that point, ...
4 months after Todd died, I was talking to a friend who develops websites about starting a blog about my experiences. She was supportive but asked me to consider if I wanted to be defined in the public eye as ...
I never knew National Grief Awareness Day was a thing until last year. I’ll be honest, grief is something I never fully understood before I experienced it firsthand. In fact, it’s something I’m still not sure I understand, even after ...
Sometimes I see life as a series of mountains and valleys. I have just come back from another hike. I have done several overnight, back country, backpacking trips but this one was another special one. It was extra hard with ...
For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 I spend a lot of time hiking which allows me ...
You should be here! The four words I often find myself saying in my head. Simple four little words that go around in my head and can tend to bring emotions and other thoughts to follow. But he isn’t here, ...
How did this happen? Why did this happen? Did this really happen? Am I really a widow? Did my husband really die? Did I really find him unresponsive laying on our bedroom floor? How did this end up being my ...
There is a lot of stress that comes with losing a loved one. A therapist told me that on the scale of stress, the highest form of grief related stress was the grief that came from losing a spouse--not a ...
As a widow in my 40’s, the most common expression I hear from people once they know my story is, “I cannot even imagine”. Nobody wants to imagine a tragedy like mine happening to them. I prefer to think of ...
It’s Friday and I’m sitting on my deck in my sunny backyard making a grocery shopping list. The Shipt shopper will take care of the shopping that Rick used to do as his most favorite task in the world (man, ...