Widowoman - A Journey Into Widowhood

In some earlier posts I wrote about things I did not want to hear anymore. Chief among them was "I am so sorry for your loss." It is said so many times by so many different people that it no longer has any real meaning or impact. It seems like a rote comment similar to what we say when people ask how we are and the answer is "fine."  However, today something happened that reminded me that there are words that can soothe and comfort event 8.5 years later when it is clear they are thoughtful and considered.  I was spending some time with a woman friend I am just getting to know. During the course of our time together she was sharing something she is working on with me and I had the opportunity to tell her a little about Ned's passion for model trains and my knowledge of them from having spent 45 years with someone who was obsessive about it. When we talked about the trains she just listened and asked questions and commented that she appreciated that I knew som

A few days ago I returned from the trip of a lifetime to the British Isles and Ireland. It was magical and wonderful and although I was on a tour bus with 23 other people and a dear friend traveled with me, I was really traveling alone. It is hard for those who have never been married and those who still are – even if they are by themselves on the trip – to really get “traveling alone.” There were 2 widows on the trip – me and one other woman. The other widow did not seem to have anything good to say about her husband.   In the beginning of the trip it seemed she did not really like him very much. By the time the trip was winding down she had mellowed a bit and shared a few stories with us about good times with him but I was really left with the sense that she was happy to by herself. The places we went and the things we saw were different than any I ever experienced with Ned. He and I took one amazing trip to Italy and Switzerland but that was it. He never made it to I