"It gets better." Let me begin this post with an honest disclaimer: I never thought I would ever say those words. How does the death of a spouse ever get better? I never would have believed it either. I never ...
Grief and trauma have a petrifying effect on the human body. I remember clearly in my first year of widowhood how difficult it was to just move. If I was on the floor, moving to the chair felt impossible. I ...
That night replays in my mind more often than I can control...Mostly when restlessness takes over after waking before the sun has even risen...My mind won't shut down, and despite my best efforts, that night repeats over and over making ...
In my last post I wrote about the value of holiday planning and how the choices I made (and didn’t make) affected the outcome of the holidays. Since that first year, I have tried so hard to push through avoiding ...
A year after Mike died, my children and I moved across the country. One of the first and most lasting comments I have received on our move is that I must have needed a fresh start or to start over. ...
For fourteen months now I have shared my journey of widowhood as honestly as possible. Though it's sometimes difficult, attempting to put into words the variety of emotions I feel on a daily basis has helped with the processing of ...
The holidays are upon us, and the last thing I want to do is be a part of any of it. At least, not like this. If I had children at home or grandchildren of my own – which, sorry, ...
I have a good life and I know it. I’m healthy. I’m financially secure. I have lots of friends who love me. I have an entire next generation of family members who spoil me with love, grandchildren, and great-nephews. I ...
Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. Five stages meant to encompass the entire, painful roller coaster known as grief. I remember learning about these stages in college, memorizing the Kubler-Ross diagram in order to pass a test. I had no idea ...
Things don’t bother me as much as they used to. I used to be a lot more tense than I am now, more anxious about everything that needed to be done. I often woke up in the morning with a ...