My Heart is Riding Shotgun

It was just nearly six years ago that Tim and I hiked in Rocky Mtn National Park. Instead of going to a main entrance, we chose an area that was actually only trail head parking. No gate. No ranger. And in fact, there were only a few other cars parked there. We honestly knew very…

A few months ago a man left three voice messages for my sister, Jackie, in less than 24 hours. He said he grew up in the area and was calling to inquire about my Mom. He left his name and Florida number. She was suspicious, but when she shared his name with me, I knew…

November 24, 2023 – Today, I am reminded of this, when someone you love, who you are immensely invested in, has just died, But there is one thing that I learned only now, in this moment. No matter how old I am and how expected her death may have been, it really hurts, because my…

My blog has been live since March 2020. I’ve published 78 entries and have had 5,370 visitors and 10,705 views. When I started, I didn’t have a hard list of goals. It was mainly this – write because it feels like something that will help me to heal; share because it feels like something that…

Although I am not a risk taker, I have rarely shied away from a challenge. And for me, one of the surprising things I’ve found in grief is, it has made me feel like there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s an odd sense of invincibility. How can I be hurt? What could…

It is fairly frequent that I write about hiking, and always, it’s more than that. Because there are analogies with life and grief that shouldn’t be ignored. And because, maybe in part for that reason, hiking has been part of my journey especially these past four years. So with that in mind, I invite you…

For fifteen years, I traveled several times a month for work. I loved it and missed it when it ended. There are skills you develop when you are living that life.  Efficient and effective packing was one of them. Many years ago, my colleague Jennifer and I were at the same training event as we…

Acceptance. As it relates to death, once upon a time, I thought it meant accepting that the person is no longer physically with us. Accepting that it can’t be changed. Intellectually, to me, I figured that was pretty straightforward. I’ve come to learn that acceptance is more complicated than that. We also have to accept…

May 22, 2019 was the last day of Tim’s life on Earth. The last day of the Tim that we knew and loved. And this same day was an unwanted beginning for me. A part of my own journey earned by the fact that I had met Tim on November 1, 2003 and that together…