Tag Archives: widow

HEALTH IS WEALTH: Y exercise

The Stork Family YMCA opened its doors to the public this year, just a four minute drive away from where I live.  I had an idea.  What if I were to ask them if they would be willing to sponsor … Continue reading

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HAPPY THOUGHT #33: Laugh lines

Since I am 33 years old I thought it appropriate to use Happy Thought #33 to write about something I love, that is a little more evident at 33 than they were at age 32.  Laugh lines.  I love laugh … Continue reading

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HAPPY THOUGHT #24: Free groceries

The day I can’t pay off my credit card is the day I cut it up.  In the meantime I use it for regular payments, and do my best to keep track that my spending on the allusive plastic card … Continue reading

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SCATTERING: finding beauty from ashes PART 2

The place: Barbados. The destination: Earthworks Pottery. The timeline: mid-vacation. My late-husband’s ashes rested in my black leather bag.  Every morning I walked on the beach, and in the height of the afternoon sun I swam in the sea.  I … Continue reading

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SCATTERING: finding beauty from ashes PART 1

The place: Canada.  The destination: Barbados.  The timeline: the night before departure. I lugged my over-sized blue suitcase up the stairs from the basement.  I’m pretty sure everything I need I can fit into hand luggage. Passport?  Check. Swimsuit?  Check. … Continue reading

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LEARNING HOW TO DIE – Jon Foreman

After my husband’s memorial service, a friend left me a note to listen to Jon Foreman‘s, The House of God, forever.  I was later given his Winter album, a listening experience rich in meaningful tracks about death and dying.  There … Continue reading

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FLIGHT 796 DEPARTING GRIEF, arriving in paradise at 3:07pm. ALL ABOARD!

The sound of the waves call out from the sea like an amplified heart beat. I lay on an orange, striped veranda couch and listen.  I feel as though I am resting one ear on a man’s chest, drifting into … Continue reading

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HAPPY THOUGHT #16: Earthworks, Barbados – A visual tour, and a message of hope

High up on the hill tops of St. Thomas parish, sits Earthworks pottery house, overlooking a spectacular view of the landscape of Barbados.  Parked on a steep hill I look up at an artist’s paradise. The outdoor staircase, decorated with … Continue reading

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WHAT SHOULD I SAY? Responding to someone else’s loss

I have an extensive resume of losses.  My life has been subjected to the death of my husband, my sister-in-law, a friend from our wedding party, three grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, and many others from my growing up community.  … Continue reading

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UNSETTLED – a journal entry of insomnia from the not-too-distant-past

I feel restless today. Why am I so anxious? I write, I clean, I organize.  I’ve reached a new plateau.  It took me weeks, actually months, to organize some bills.  I couldn’t see how to process the piles of papers.  … Continue reading

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