Family
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The Alchemy of Grief
The Elixir Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything To do it as for Thee. Not rudely, as a beast, To run into an action; But still to make Thee prepossest, And give it his perfection. A man that looks on glass, On it may stay his eye; Or if he pleaseth, Continue reading
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Ready or Not…
After one of the premarital counseling sessions Melinda and I had with Fr. Stephen Freeman, he commented as we were leaving that, barring the unusual circumstances where a husband and wife die together, one spouse will survive the other. He certainly didn’t need to repeat it later when Tracy and I met with him for Continue reading
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Same song, second verse…
I’ve been absent from writing for quite a while now. It’s been difficult to do a lot of things that aren’t strictly necessary. I’ve kept my kids and myself fed, dressed, and housed, and I’ve gotten us to appointments and obligations, mostly on time. I’ve gotten myself to work. Apart from that, not much else. Continue reading
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Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight…
I hadn’t planned to write during Holy Week. Between work during the day and church services every evening this week, as well as chauffeur duties for the kids, plus planning for food for the feast (Tracy’s savory cheesecake!), I had figured I would write something after Pascha, either during Bright Week or the week after. Continue reading
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“You were lucky…”
The worst thing anyone ever said to me as a new widower: “you were lucky.” A couple days after Melinda’s death, I called Social Security to notify them and to apply for whatever survivor benefits I was entitled to. The surviving spouse gets a one-time $255 death benefit (possibly more, depending on earnings, age, disability Continue reading
The Joyful Widower 