Ch.222 Wailing on the Day Pat DiedOct.2023The new six-week grief group that I am co-facilitating met for the first time on Tuesday. Halfway through the group, Wendy, my fellow facilitator,
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Ch.235 Pre-Arranging My Funeral
Jan. 2024
There are some things one should not attempt to discuss via texting. I found that out when I texted a message to my
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Ch.234 Thirteen Pounds of Salt
Jan.2024
This morning I was cleaning out the closet in our computer room, yet another place where Pat had placed mysterious objects,
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Ch.233 Eighteen Months A Widower
Jan.1, 2024
I didn’t anticipate that this anniversary would hit so painfully. I expected 2’s and 3’s on the emotional pain scale,
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Ch.232 Second Christmas Without Pat
Dec. 2023
I just re-read my blog from Dec.26, 2022, exactly one year ago today. Very positive. Optimistic. Full of caring people.
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Ch.231 Loneliness Panic Attack
Dec.2023
It’s 9 a.m. on the Friday before Christmas. I’ve taken my morning walk with Levi. Eaten toast and yogurt with a cup
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Ch.230 Pat Guides Me Through the Desert
Dec 2023
Last night I participated in my monthly “Brothers and Wives” Zoom session. We had a good time together,
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Ch.229 My Twin Brother and My New Life
Dec.2023
My twin brother Don was coming for a visit, his first here since shortly after Pat died. Eight
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Ch.228 I Can See Pat Better Now
Dec.2023
C.S. Lewis, in A Grief Observed, writes something that caught me completely by surprise: “…passionate grief does not link us with
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Ch.227 I’m Grateful for All Those Who Care About Me
Nov.2023
I’ve had three interactions this week that helped me feel connected and cared about by many
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Ch.226 Ron the Extrovert
Nov.2023
Last night I attended a “Gala” at Azura Memory Care, in celebration of their record-setting pace in collecting donations for the annual
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Ch.225 Pat and Judy’s Radiant Smiles
Nov. 2023
Most Wednesdays at noon I eat lunch with my friends Richard and Jerry. Jerry, like me, is a widower;
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Ch.224 Walking at Daybreak
Nov.2023
7:15 a.m. 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Just a hint of light in the sky.
Time for a walk.
Blackie, my cat, has been awake a
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Ch.64 Ron Becomes Anxious and Irritable
Summer, 2020
Lately I’ve been anxious and irritable. I’ll talk about my irritability later in this essay, but for now let
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Ch.221 Evidence of Healing: A Tale of Two Vacations
Oct.2023
Last May I flew to Canada to visit my brothers Don and Art, eleven months after Pat’s
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Ch.220 Please Worry Just a Little
Sept. 2023
There is a special look reserved for people talking to someone in mourning: closely attentive with sad but searching
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