Grief is like…
Grief is like waves pounding on the seashore. At first, the waves come in, piled one upon the other, tumbling in confusion and pounding hard. Gradually they slow down. At first, grief seems to knock us down every minute. Gradually, there’s more time between waves. We still get knocked down from time to time. — […]
A parent’s greatest revenge…
I love the quote: “a parent’s greatest revenge is when your kids have kids”. I twist this quote a bit to say that once my kids have children of their own, then maybe they will understand just a wee bit the struggle I went through as a grieving solo parent after Keith died. The other […]
The Power of Shared Experiences
This week, nine of us came together to talk about our children, solo parenting, and widowhood. We laughed, we cried, we supported each other, and we ate chocolate! Our children ranged in age from 3 months to 16 years old. Our widowhood ranged from 5 months to 12 years. The two hours sped by as […]
Blue Monday
This past Monday (the 3rd Monday of January) has been labelled “Blue Monday.” Apparently, it is the most depressing day of the year. If you can believe it, there is an actual formal for calculating this day that includes weather conditions, our debts (Christmas bills are arriving), failed New Year’s resolutions, and low motivation. It […]
12 years, 6 months less one week…
I finished shredding Keith! On Sunday, in a completely unplanned and spontaneous moment, I attacked the last box of papers from Keith and began ripping them. I have been shredding and burning his paperwork in spurts since he died. Believe it or not, all the shredding I did before I moved from Calgary to Ontario […]
The Mourner’s Code
“You have the right to talk about your grief.” Talking about your grief will help you heal. Seek out others who will allow you to talk as much as you want, as often as you need, about your grief. If at times, you don’t feel like talking, you also have the right to be silent. […]
Grief is like a maze
Grief is like a maze. There are so many blind alleys. Where is the right passageway? Who is there to guide us, to give us safe conduct through this maze of feelings and emotions that we have not felt before? How can we find our way through? It feels so confusing. We feel lost and […]
Extra Large
Grief comes in one size, Extra Large. If we tuck it away in the bottom drawer where it never sees the light of day, it remains exactly the same. On the other hand, if we wear it, feel it, talk about it, and share it with others, it is likely that it will become faded, […]
Live with no regrets
I’ve been trying for weeks to muster up an idea for my blog post but, to be honest, I was really stumped – until Sunday evening. I received word that someone I know has received serious news about their health, and it seems that there might not be anything that can be done to fix […]
Widowed people are amazing!
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, Widows and Widowers are some of the most amazing people I have had the honor of meeting. I was talking with a lady today whose husband died about 2 months ago. As she told me her story and what she was doing to manage her […]