“I opened the door to two police officers, our baby in my arms. They took off their hats and the world started spinning. It couldn’t be real.”
‘Mommy, why are you crying?’ How do you explain to a 3-year-old her daddy has passed? I had just shattered her life forever.’: Widow shares grief journey, ‘We’ll make you proud every day’
‘I was over-medicated, an emotionless zombie. I didn’t know how to celebrate without him. This year, I FEEL.’: Widow shares feelings on holidays while grieving, ‘Finding a new normal is weird’
“I feel, at any moment, every good feeling may be the last one I have. I just have to put on my fancy holiday anxiety and deal with it. The worst part about being a widow is holidays.”
‘She walked into the bar alone. My gut told me she was also in the dead husband club. She asked, ‘Does it ever get easier?’: Suicide widow makes ‘lifelong’ friend, ‘Connection keeps us going’
“’She can’t possibly be ready to date, can she?’ Now 3 years in, I’m asked all the time, ‘Why are you still single?’ It hurts so bad you feel it down to your bones.”
‘My husband died on a Saturday. Monday, we planned the funeral. Thursday, I started a new job. I thought if I stayed busy, it would fix the brokenness.’: Woman urges self care for fellow widows, ‘It’s a daily battle’
“What no one prepares you for is what happens after the last sympathy card is opened and people have moved on. I stuffed away every bad feeling. I am a broken person trying to piece my life back together.”
‘I still reach for him in bed. I still think I hear him coming in from work. I have to force myself to live.’: Widow suffering from PTSD says, ‘I can hear him telling me to get back up and fight’
“My anxiety hit a fever pitch. Yesterday, my child was happily climbing on rocks and pretending to be a cat with her friend by the water. I couldn’t shake the feeling something bad was going to happen. I was shaking out of my skin.”
‘I cooked three meals a day. The house was clean. My husband came in the door knowing he was getting a home-cooked meal.’: Widow urges ‘nothing is promised’ after husband’s battle with colorectal cancer
“We knew it was coming. He was tired. His body had fought so hard. I craved the routine. In the end, all we had was love. There was no schedule, no bill due, no job that was more important than that. Nothing I could’ve done was going to change the outcome.”
‘Hang tight. He is on his way, and is beyond your wildest dreams.’ A week later, I met the man who would be my fiancé.’: Widow embraces love after loss after late husband dies tragically in ‘mock robbery’
“‘I’m sorry to say this, but your husband died tonight,’ the police officer said. The store was filled with gun powder. I looked across the room to find a pool of blood. Brian was 30 years old. We’d just gotten married only 86 days before. He didn’t realize the gun was fully loaded and shot him in the face.”
‘I was the ‘closet Diet Mountain Dew drinker.’ I was MAD he left me. To be honest, I was a HOT MESS. I fought back.’
“He often told me, ‘You are too damn feisty.’ Well, I knew I had to stand up for myself. For almost 19 years I picked my battles.”
‘My husband wanted to take his motorcycle. He gave me a kiss and walked out the door. At 11:59 a.m. I got the call that changed my life. The nurse said, ‘Are you his wife? Meet me at the hospital.’
“I didn’t have a car seat for my nephew. I couldn’t leave. I called everyone I knew. My sister came home and said, ‘You need to go NOW.’ When I arrived, I saw a security guard outside the front doors of the ER. I walked up. My head was spinning.”
‘Divorce. Maybe it’s time. I just don’t think I can make you happy anymore.’: Widow recounts time marriage almost ended in divorce
“There were a lot of conversations where I would literally tell him, ‘You don’t love me.’ On this rainy April day, I had finally worn him down. ‘No,’ I thought.”
