There was a lot of drama
I’ve traveled many times to the beautiful Southwest corner of Utah. Eastern Utah has been so close, and so far, since moving to Denver, but I finally made it there. Six days of hiking, in and around Moab, with 10 people who were strangers to me, plus two guides. What could go wrong? I guess…
You were out of my league
Because you are reading this, you already know that I believe in signs -that I am open to them, I am observant of them, and I receive them. I also feel pretty certain that if there was anybody who could pull off sending signs, it’s Tim. There are two main reasons why I know he…
A sandwich of strangers
I’m an introvert and typically get most energized by my solo time. Generally, I’m an observer of others. I think through things before I speak and will only share if I believe there is something important to add. For all of these reasons, writing suits me well. But I’ve also had a long career that…
Oranges
There are all kinds of changes that can occur in our habits and abilities when experiencing the loss of someone we love. Grief can take over in unanticipated ways. After Tim died, I found reading a book to be immensely frustrating. It was difficult for me to concentrate beyond a few pages at a time.…
Truths worth repeating
I have been writing regularly for over four years and have published 89 blogs on My Heart is Riding Shotgun. Most of them are timeless. I can reread and often still find myself so clearly identifying with the place I was in when I wrote it, though thankfully, I am usually not still standing there. …
An Unremarkable Story
Tim and I were in Sedonna for a few days to ring in 2013. This was a place we visited quite often. On this occasion, it was colder than we had planned for and in fact, it snowed. We stopped at a random, mom-and-pop outfitter store to get something a bit warmer to wear. As…
The other side of the bridge
Did anyone notice this blog is posted two weeks later than my usual schedule? Thank you to the three people who checked in with me about it. And the rest of you, I still truly appreciate you. (haha!) As I’ve said before, these are my self-imposed deadlines. But it’s the first one I’ve missed in…
Who will call?
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…
The only way out is through
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…
Can you?
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…