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WIDOWER: NEW RELATIONSHIPS
While being prepped for an emergency hernia operation four months after my wife’s death, I instructed the doctors three times that I wanted a “Do Not Resuscitate” order in place. I saw this as an opportunity to rejoin my wonderful wife of 45 years. Many hours later ― I woke up! The immediate question that…
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Lifeboat Supplies
It’s important to have a ‘lifeboat’ prepared for those hard times. In a recent post, I talked about how I like to visualize my mood as a buoy in the sea. There have been times in my life when ocean waves would wash over my buoy, but then it would always pop back up. When…
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Widower: Financial Land Mines
My father died when he was 33 years of age, so I realized the importance of getting my finances in order while still young. I bought life insurance, started an IRA investment account, wrote a will, and made sure that my wife was the primary beneficiary. During one period (2008 – 2012) I was sure…
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A Widower’s Wake-up Call
By Herb Knoll Author: The Widower’s Journey “The entire floor misses your laughter,” said the young female staff member standing at my office door. It had been just four months since my bride, Michelle Knoll, had earned her angel wings following her 39 month battle against pancreatic cancer. She died on March 7, 2008. “They’re…
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Fear-some Firsts
How to get through those hard anniversaries… that horrible first year I called them the “fierce-some firsts”: First Valentine’s Day. First Thanksgiving. First Christmas. First birthday (his). My birthday First birthday (the children’s). First “day we met”. First wedding anniversary. First angle-versary (anniversary of death). During that first year, as these “firsts” approached, I’d count…
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Rediscovering Your Radar
Since becoming a widower, one of the most humbling discoveries I have made is that I know very little about women. While I grew to know my wife as well as I could know anyone, I simultaneously disconnected my radar associated with the pursuit of other relationships. While that was the proper thing to do…
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How a Widower Can Ensure His Final Wishes Are Carried Out
By Rachel Zeldin, Founder of Funerals360 As a widower, you’ve most certainly dealt with an enormous amount of stress and grief at the time of your partner’s passing. During that excruciating time, spouses often have the added burden of making plans for final wishes and funeral services of their loved one. This is an incredibly trying…
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Potential and Change
(24-hours before Suzanne dies) Dear future Jeff, I want you to know a few things. After Suzanne dies, you will feel like there is little potential of anything ever making your life any better. Did you know that you will be scared, hurting, very much alone (even surrounded by friends and family), completely lost and…
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A Friend In Need: Herb Knoll
The quality I admire most in writers is their passion for their work and their causes. We’re all Don Quixote fighting huge windmills, doing our bit to make the world a little better and inspire others. Herb Knoll is a great example, devoting much of his life to a cause few think about, even though…
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Serving others can heal your broken heart.
It’s true! No matter how painful your grief may be, getting up and off the couch and into your community to serve others is guaranteed to make you feel better. Whether you volunteer for the fire department or the Red Cross, become a scout leader or work in a soup kitchen, serving others will energize…
Widowers Support Network 