#Widowlife

The Madison is a series on Paramount+ starring Michelle Pfeiffer @michellepfeifferofficial and Kurt Russell, and is a story about widowhood and grief! It’s very good by the way, but more on that later! In it Michelle Pfeiffer plays the widow and in one of the episodes she visits a therapist, he said something that really struck a chord with me…… “You’ll have as much life to live as you allow yourself” This is hard to hear and even harder to understand but I can see so much truth and power in this. Deciding we can live a life after loss is a decision only we can make, and only we can give ourselves permission to do that. Nobody else will! It may not feel like it’s a decision you get to make but I truly believe it is. You may not know how to get there or what it will look like, but giving yourself permission to think about it and explore it is the first step. You don’t have to have all the answers, or to know the way, but allow yourself to look for the way. You can create a life after loss that can feel meaningful, joyful and purposeful again. Alongside your love and your grief, not away from it. Sending huge love as always 💛🌻 #themadison #youdecide #widowlife #griefandloss #lifeafterloss

(1) The right person won’t see your widowhood as “baggage”: I was fearful that no one would be able to handle the complexity of my grief and taking up the responsibility of a family with a baby and a toddler. But I learned that the right person will view your widowhood-what you’ve endured and your new perspective on life as something that is a sign of strength and resilience rather than of brokenness. (2) Re-partnering will not heal your grief: Finding love again will not fill a void. Your partner who is dead and the love you have for them is unique from any relationship that follows. There isn’t replacing a human being in a life that can never be lived again. There is only moving forward and trying to find peace and beauty in a life that you never expected. (3) Your grief is your responsibility, not your partners: My partner is not responsible for my happiness or healing. Healing and joy is an internal job and has to come from me first. (4) There will never be “ready” to fall in love again: There is no such thing as “ready.” Each step as a widow, big or small, is a leap of faith into a new life that is unknown and scary because we’ve never done this before. We are creating a completely different life from scratch, which takes getting uncomfortable A LOT, trusting our intuition, and having faith that whatever is meant for us will find us when the time is right. 💌 DM “Retreat” for my widow’s retreat 💌 DM “Support” for 1:1 grief support 💌 DM “Carried” to order my second book 💌 DM “Running” for my book 💌 DM “Light” for my self-guided grief course 💌 DM “Email” to join my list #grievingprocess #griefjourney #griefsupport #griefandloss #griefislove #griefhealing #copingwithgrief #thisisgrief #griefcoach #griefwork #youngwidow #youngwidows #widowedandyoung #widow #widows #widowhood #widowlife #widowed #widowedmom #widowstrong #widowsupport #widowshelpingwidows #hotyoungwidowsclub #hopeforwidows #widowcoach #k9officer #loveafterloss #policewife #leowife #griefhealing Grief coach for widows. Helping widows lost in grief find joy and purpose after loss.

Concert # 2 I’m coming for ya… ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #boygeorgeandcultureclub ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #WidowLife #griefsucks #griefjourney ⭐️⭐️⭐️ @boygeorgeofficial @cultureclubofficial

Another widow recently told me something that stopped me in my tracks: “It feels like remarried widows only share the highlight reel.” And honestly… she’s not wrong. So, in the spirit of keeping it real, here’s what my husband Anthony and I have truly struggled with. Not to scare you—but to remind you, you’re not alone. 1. Parenting differences. Blending families is not for the faint of heart. Anthony went from bachelor to father of two boys, fast. He’s more of a disciplinarian, I’m softer. And we’ve had to navigate a lot of hard conversations to learn how to parent as a team. 2. Grief communication gaps. In the beginning, I expected Anthony to just know what I needed on hard grief days. But he couldn’t read my mind. Therapy helped me realize I had to learn how to communicate my needs clearly so he could show up for me the way he wanted to. 3. Widow dating grief is REAL. The guilt. The comparison. The opinions. The drama. All of it hit me. I had to work through a lot of layers to even be ready to be a good partner. If you’re dating and struggling—you’re not doing it wrong. It’s just part of the journey. 4. Grieving secondary losses—together. Not everyone will support your love story. We’ve faced rejection and hard family dynamics. We’ve had some painful but necessary conversations (including with a couples therapist) to decide what boundaries we need to protect our peace. 💬 If you’re remarried or repartnered, I’d love to hear: What’s been the hardest part for you? . . . 💌DM “Carried” to order my 2nd book 💌DM “Retreat” for my widow’s retreat 💌DM “Support” for 1:1 grief support 💌DM “Running” for my book 💌DM “Email” to sign up for my list . . . #grievingprocess #griefjourney #griefsupport #griefandloss #griefislove #griefhealing #copingwithgrief #thisisgrief #griefcoach #griefwork #youngwidow #youngwidows #widowedandyoung #widow #widows #widowhood #widowlife #widowed #widowedmom #widowstrong #widowsupport #widowshelpingwidows #hotyoungwidowsclub #hopeforwidows #widowcoach #k9officer #loveafterloss #policewife #leowife #griefhealing . . . Grief coach for widows. Helping widows lost in grief find joy and purpose after loss.

We did everything right… and still he was taken. We followed the proper steps in life, We loved each other well, We never took a day together for granted, And still he died without a warning. Gone before anyone knew what was coming. If this post teaches you anything, let it be this: You hear “tomorrow isn’t promised”, but you don’t learn to live like that until you’ve seen it taken first hand... So learn… live like tomorrow isn’t promised, because it ISN’T. Jared always understood that, and though his time was shorter than we wanted, he didn’t waste a moment of it.💛🥹 #lifeafterloss #youngwidow #widowsofinstagram #widowlife #healingtiktok

In honor of National Motivation & Inspiration Day, I’m posting a few favorite clips from my podcast which launched a few months ago. If you haven’t checked it out yet, there are 14 incredible episodes so far, with more on the way in 2026. Reinvention at Any Age is the inspiring podcast proving it's never too late – or too early – to start over, pivot, or pursue your passion. I dive into real stories of transformation, bold career changes, and personal breakthroughs from people rewriting their lives on their own terms. Whether you're 18 or 80, if you’re feeling stuck, restless, or ready for a change, join us to get motivated, take the leap, and reinvent your future. #reinvention #reinventionatanyage #reinventingyourlife #startingover #pursuingyourpassion #selfimprovement #nationalmotivationandinspirationday #noregrets #motivation #modernwidowsclub #widowshelpingwidows #widowssupportingwidows #widowsofinstagram #widowlife

Here👇🏻 I've had a number of new people join my community recently, and so often the question is asked, "how did your husband die so young?" So I'm sharing what happened here so there isn't any speculation that I often see riddled in my comment section. On October 14, 2021, Ryan was coming home from his Crossfit gym and he got stung by a bee. I was working at home at the time and he told me he had been stung by a bee on the inside of one of his arms. Ryan had no history of being allergic to bees so we did not have an EPI pen in the house. A few minutes after he got home he told me he “felt weird,” which prompted me to call 911 and tell them that my husband was going into anaphylaxis from a bee sting. Ryan became unresponsive as we waited for the ambulance and I performed CPR on our front porch until EMS arrived. After EMS arrived, Ryan went into cardiac arrest and he could not be revived for approximately 20 minutes which caused a severe brain injury. He was in the Neuro ICU for 2 months and then was in and out of hospitals and brain rehab. Five months after his medical event, we were told by his medical team that due to the extensive nature of Ryan’s injury he would never make a meaningful recovery and remain in a vegetative state. Therefore the gut wrenching decision was made to withdraw all life sustaining care and place Ryan on hospice. He was admitted on March 17, 2022, and he died 22 days later on April 7, 2022. 💌 DM “Retreat” for my widow’s retreat 💌 DM “Support” for 1:1 grief support 💌 DM “Carried” to order my second book 💌 DM “Running” for my book 💌 DM “Light” for my self-guided grief course 💌 DM “Email” to join my list #grievingprocess #griefjourney #griefsupport #griefandloss #griefislove #griefhealing #copingwithgrief #thisisgrief #griefcoach #griefwork #youngwidow #youngwidows #widowedandyoung #widow #widows #widowhood #widowlife #widowed #widowedmom #widowstrong #widowsupport #widowshelpingwidows #hotyoungwidowsclub #hopeforwidows #widowcoach Grief coach for widows. Helping widows lost in grief find joy and purpose.

“I can’t quit.” That’s what kept running through my head today. I went from not even knowing what an irrigation port was… to digging it out with my own hands, trying to figure it out as I go. Some days feel heavier than others. Some days I feel like I’m getting nowhere. But this is what it takes now… to keep the home we built and continue raising my kids here. So I keep going. Now we wait and see if it worked 💧

World Cancer Day. Nick faced brain cancer with courage, grit, and a whole lot of heart. Cancer took his body, but it never his spirit, his humor, or strength. Cancer didn’t win. Nick did. His life was bigger than cancer. And will always be. ❤️ . . . … #WidowLife #OneDayAtATime #grief #griefsucks #griefjourney

I’m just going to say this as raw as I can… I am really struggling right now. Mentally. Physically. In every way you could probably imagine. And I know people expect that… I know this is what grief looks like. But living it is something completely different. The hardest part for me right now is being around people. Not because I don’t want to be… but because I don’t know how to be anymore. When I see you—at school, at sports, out in public—there are a million things I want to say. Thank you. I love you. I see you. I appreciate every prayer, every message, every single thing you’ve done for our family. But the words get stuck. It feels like my body just shuts down. Like I’m on the verge of breaking every time I try to speak. And then I walk away replaying everything in my head… Did I seem rude? Did I seem ungrateful? Did I not say enough? When the truth is… I am more grateful than I could ever put into words. I feel like I’m trying to relearn how to exist in situations I’ve been in a million times before… but now everything feels completely new and unfamiliar. One minute I’m okay, just driving… and the next, I’m right back in the worst moment of my life. The day we lost him. And it takes over everything—my thoughts, my body, my ability to function. I get shaky. I feel scared. I feel completely out of control. And I hate that feeling. I hate not recognizing myself. I hate not being able to control my emotions. I hate walking away feeling like I didn’t show up the way I wanted to. And I’m going to be honest… I’m terrified for Saturday. I’m scared I won’t be able to get through it. I’m scared I’ll come off cold or distant, when inside I am anything but. Because the truth is… I feel everything. So deeply. Our family has been surrounded by a kind of love and support that I will never, ever be able to repay. And if I haven’t been able to say it out loud yet… Please know I feel it. Please know I see it. Please know it means everything to me. I’m just trying to figure out how to carry all of this… and still stand at the same time.

Now what? Tara Gidus Collingwood faced unimaginable loss when, at the age of 37, her husband passed away from cancer, leaving her with two young boys. Rather than sitting in bed crying, Tara found strength in the Modern Widows Club and slowly rebuilt her life with hope. Don't miss my entire conversation with Tara in this podcast episode of Reinvention at Any Age (links in BIO). #reinvention #reinventionatanyage #pursuingyourpassion #reinventingyourlife #selfimprovement #startingover #modernwidowsclub #widowlife #widowshelpingwidows #widowsofinstagram #widowssupportingwidows

Here👇🏻 I understand that for those that have not lost a spouse, it may be hard to comprehend why a widow may decide to take off her wedding rings soon after her husband's death. They are a symbol of love, commitment, and a sacred union a couple makes to each other on their wedding day after all. And that's the exact reason I took my rings off very soon after my late husband, Ryan, died. My rings symbolized our life and love together while Ryan was alive-when we were both able to carry out the commitments we had made to each other on October 12, 2013. As soon as he died, our vows "till death to us part" had been fulfilled. With Ryan's last breath, I had transitioned from a wife to a widow. That abrupt dethroning of sorts was jarring. The rings on my finger a beautiful but tragic reminder to myself and the world of what had been lost and what could never be again. The rings didn't bring me comfort or a connection to Ryan, but rather they made me feel sick because what the rings symbolized what was no longer my reality. It had nothing to do with my love for Ryan. How much I missed him or grieved for him and our life together. It just didn't make sense or "fit" with my new life moving forward and it was less painful to see my ring finger bear than with the rings Ryan had pledged his love to me with. Bottom line. Do what's right for you and your grief. When and why did you take off your wedding rings? 💍 . . . 💌 DM “Retreat” for my widow’s retreat 💌 DM “Support” for 1:1 grief support 💌 DM “Carried” to order my 2nd book 💌 DM “Running” for my book 💌 DM “Light” for my self-guided grief course 💌 DM “Email” to join my list . . #grievingprocess #griefjourney #griefsupport #griefandloss #griefislove #griefhealing #copingwithgrief #thisisgrief #griefcoach #griefwork #youngwidow #youngwidows #widowedandyoung #widow #widows #widowhood #widowlife #widowed #widowedmom #widowstrong #widowsupport #widowshelpingwidows #hotyoungwidowsclub #hopeforwidows #widowcoach #k9officer #loveafterloss #policewife #leowife #griefhealing . . Grief coach for widows. Helping widows lost in grief find joy and purpose after loss.