“My daughter head-slammed to the ground. It happened when I was in the deepest pain of my life, betrayed and hurt by the one person I thought I could count on after my husband died. I panicked.”
‘Suck it up. You’re fine.’ She took a bad fall. I was too traumatized to step foot in a hospital.’: Young widow has realization about ‘grief management’ after daughter crashes bike
‘Cancer didn’t stop him from being the best dad. If anything, it magnified who he was and what was important.’: Young widow shares husband’s selflessness, despite battling cancer
“We didn’t have two pennies to rub together, so our ‘treat’ was Arby’s. It was so cold, and the employees were trying to kick a homeless man out of the restaurant. Matt walked to the register, bought him a meal, sat it down in front of him, and told him to eat real slow and stay as long as he wanted. There was no one who was immune to the goodness of Matt’s heart.”
‘I didn’t know that about you,’ said a patient at work. I was embarrassed to be placed in the same category.’: Widow shares why she carries late fiancé’s Narcotics Anonymous key chains
“My first reaction was to be defensive; my second was the opposite. The second reaction came when I realized why I carry these key chains. Jamie was 5 years sober when he bought a pill he didn’t know was fentanyl, and he died. Jamie was 29 years old. He was a dad to five kids.”
‘As I went through my daughter’s camera roll, I came across a photo of this blanket. I smiled. Suddenly, my problems didn’t seem so big.’: Widow thanks daughter on day of husband’s death, ‘The girl who smiled when it seemed impossible’
“Every year, we go back to try to find it – that peace from this horrible grief. Except this year, they were closed. Just that night. To sanitize.”
‘Then cancer struck. It’s hard to be single in a sea of married people. Friends dragged me to the next step.’: Widow is grateful for ‘friend family’ who carry her through life
“They stand by me through the hardest times of my life. They have most recently watched me lose myself in someone who was not worthy of my time. They include us in family gatherings, and their husbands step up when my daughter needs a father figure in her life.”
‘I can’t wait to have a fire!’ Suddenly, the car was sliding. My husband said, ‘Oh crap.’ I’d regret those words forever.’: Young widow shares grief journey after losing husband in car accident
“I crunched glass between my teeth. I realized it was silent in the car. I screamed like I never had before, a scream so loud it still haunts me today.”
‘The construction worker stopped. ‘You’d better get over here. I was digging up the front yard and found the darndest thing.’: Couple learn lesson from ‘curious’ items on new property
“The lawyer picked up and laughed. ‘I’ve been waiting for this call.’ He unlocked a drawer behind his big mahogany desk. In his hand was a single envelope with handwriting on the front that said, ‘Do Not Open Unless the New Owners of my Home Find Something Strange.'”
