When you lose your spouse, whether you are a parent or not, there are phrases that you will hear from family, friends and acquaintances. These phrases are spoken out of care and, I believe, an unspoken discomfort in not knowing ...
I’m new to this, yet I’m not. I’m a teacher so I’m used to writing. I’ve been writing most of my life. I mostly write and then eventually throw my writing away, except the journals on my travels. I also ...
Grief is a complex emotion, and it can be particularly challenging for children. As a grandparent, I play a unique and essential role in supporting our grandchildren through the grieving process. When Glenn passed we only had one grand. There ...
The day I learned the term "Executive Dysfunction", I felt seen. Finally, someone said this was an actual thing, and it wasn't just me being lazy and willfully disorganized. Executive dysfunction is when you have problems with your executive function ...
Sharing The Loss So how do you explain to someone new you meet that you are a widow? When do you say it? Do you wait for someone to ask an awkward question that they don’t even realize they ...
Loneliness – empty, silent, depressing, unwelcome Solitude – peaceful, thought-provoking, nourishing, welcome Being alone during that first year of grief was frightening. I dreaded hearing nothing and feeling everything. In the aloneness I was so aware of my devastating loss ...
It seems that in life a young widow so very often feels like an oddly shaped piece that doesn’t fit into the puzzle of life going on around them. Many families around you are established and complete. They have their ...
Father's Day has passed for another year. This one and Mother's Day can be tough dates for the widow/er community. In my mere six-plus years in this sad little club, I have noticed the sentiments for Father's Day in particular ...
It's been well over six years since I became a widow and if I'm being honest, I still have not settled everything that needs to be settled following the death of a spouse. Most everything that needed tending to was ...
Assumptions NOT to make about a widow (even if you are one yourself). 1) Don’t assume you know exactly how she feels. 2) Don’t assume that because you lost a parent or another loved one, that you understand ...