The Beginning of Grief & Joy

On January 16, 2020, my husband passed away from a massive heart attack--aka widow maker--while we were on a family vacation in Florida. That day, I earned my Official Widow Card--even if it didn't formally exist yet. Our twin boys were 18 at the time and in their senior year of high school. 

2020 was something! Just a few months after I lost my husband, covid hit and the world shut down. This forced me to get creative about how to process my loss and manage my grief as a new widow. 

In June, we unexpectedly lost one of our dogs, Waylon, who was barely a year old.

Then, August 2020 arrived and my boys left for college. So in the same year, I not only earned my Official Widow Card but also my Official Empty Nester Card. 

There was definitely a lot of grief that year. But, there were also moments of joy! Like watching my boys graduate from high school and meeting the man who became my Chapter 2 (as the widows say) and who is still my partner today. 

One day, during 2020, the hardest year of my life, I had a realization that brought me clarity. It hit me that my life forevermore is going to be a combination of grief & joy. Somehow, this gave me hope that I was going to survive. And I really needed that at the time. 

It has taken me six years to get out of my grief holes, fight my way through peri-menopause/menopause, learn how to live a whole new life as an empty nester with a new partner, and deal with the craziness of working in the corporate world. 

But in January 2026, when Grief & Joy launches to the world, it will be to honor my late husband, Todd, and to bring humor to all of us women out there who need to laugh a lot to get through everything that life throws at us! 

Todd, I hope you shaved your balls for this! If you know, you know!