widowedandwriting

Arguing with Strangers on the Internet

I know, you’re not supposed to do this. Very few minds are changed by a written skirmish in the comment section. But my enneagram 8 self loves a good confrontation and I have found the perfect outlet. Dating apps. But Sarah, isn’t the point to find a match? Yes, but my ideal match will enjoyContinue reading “Arguing with Strangers on the Internet”

Triggers

I hate that word. Probably because I teach middle school and, “ugh, triggered” or, “i know, I was soo triggered” are phrases that the 8th graders say with regularity when referring to any minor inconvenience. That’s one of the risks that comes with normalizing mental health conversations-words start to lose some of their power. BecauseContinue reading “Triggers”

A Love Letter to Dany

I recently celebrated the fourth anniversary of bringing my dog Dany home from the shelter, aka the anniversary of one of the best decisions of my life. Before living with us, Dany lived with about 50 other dogs in some kind of tent situation (think animal hoarding). Almost everything made her scared, she needed lotsContinue reading “A Love Letter to Dany”

Let’s Get Mad

C.S. Lewis has a famous quote…ok he has a ton of famous quotes but the one that gets the most attention in grief circles is, “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” This really resonates with a lot of people, and it resonated with me in other grief experiences. There isContinue reading “Let’s Get Mad”

Set a Boundary

Last week I wrote about things that actually help with grief, but I left out a big one. Boundaries. If you are lucky, you will have a lot of people who care about you, who want to know how you are doing. You do not owe all of them your story. In fact, you don’tContinue reading “Set a Boundary”

Bind up the Brokenhearted Ones

A few weeks ago at church we sang the hymn Arise, Your Light is Come! Verse 3 had the most wonderful phrase, “bind up the brokenhearted ones and comfort those who mourn.” This isn’t the point of this post but I would just like to state, for the record, that had we not sung allContinue reading “Bind up the Brokenhearted Ones”

Toxic Positivity

I used to have a poster in my classroom that said “Good Vibes Only.” It was one of the free posters from the book fair-teachers will know what I’m talking about. (For the rest of you, they send display posters with the book fair that you get to keep. The veteran teachers will call dibsContinue reading “Toxic Positivity”

It’s the Olympics!!

I love the Olympics…like an unhealthy amount. If it is the winter Olympics and I have to work you can expect Olympic themed bulletin boards (shout out to my awesome assistant who made a torch completely out of construction paper), highlight videos, and an updated medal count on the board. And you had better believeContinue reading “It’s the Olympics!!”

Summer Camp

I met my husband while we were both working at Camp Innabah. If you’re anywhere around Southeast PA you should definitely check it out-it’s a great camp. I started attending their day camp program when I was just 4 years old and I was hooked. I came back every summer, first for half week overnights,Continue reading “Summer Camp”

A Love Letter to Solo Travel

My husband died on June 6, 2019. I emailed my principal and informed her I would not be coming in for the remainder of the school year and then I did all of the immediate tasks of grief. I planned a funeral and got paperwork in order and called insurance companies, but after all ofContinue reading “A Love Letter to Solo Travel”