A safe harbor where beliefs are respected and kindness prevails.

What Do You Want Your Life To Be About

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Jack's Self Portrait
Jack’s Self Portrait

As the days keep coming and Jack’s death moves further into the past I find that I’m tired of talking about it… even though I still do.  The more I listen to myself, especially with those who don’t know that my husband has recently passed, the more I sound like a sad story-teller.  I don’t want to be that person.

Jack’s own philosophy over these last few years is resonating with me more now than before.  He never wanted to talk about his cancer because that’s not what he wanted his life to be about.  He wanted people to see him as a passionate photographer who was talented, inspirational and encouraging to anyone who wanted to develop their skills.  Up until almost the day he died many of his friends knew he had cancer but didn’t know he was dying.  That was an amazing feat considering how much he had endured.

Now, on the other side of his death, I find myself not wanting to be the widow.  Yes I am… but that’s not what I want my life to be about.  It’s not that I don’t mourn his passing.  Those close to us understand why every day I have to make a conscious choice not to crawl up in a ball and shut out the world.  If I give up now then my life would be that of the sad woman whose husband died too young.  That would be a waste of this life I’ve been given and honestly, to me, disrespectful of all he endured.

Yes it’s hard… more so than not.  However I believe there is a reason and a purpose for my experiences.  There is more for me left to do in this lifetime. I have a choice.  I can live the story that breaks my heart or I can live a life lifts me up above my pain.  It may not always be an easy choice but it is that simple.

What do you want your life to be about?  What choice will you make the be the person you want to be?  Let’s walk together…

With love, Cheryl

(The photo in this article is one that Jack took of himself… that I never knew he’d taken until after he died.  The left side of his face is obscured intentionally because that is was the part of his face and neck that were so severely impacted by the cancer and the treatments.  He didn’t want people to remember him for his suffering.)

It’s The Choice That Heals or Hurts

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Everyday is a new experience as I learn to live solo.  Some of those experiences are terrifying (ok a little bit of an exaggeration.)  Others may be things I’ve experienced before and am seeing them differently without another voice to share them with.  None of that sounds particularly good to me which is where the choice comes in.

May 5th would have been our 36th wedding anniversary.  Yes it was very hard. Mourning the loss of the love of my life, the sharing, the laughter, our future together, is natural. I’m OK with that. I however intend to celebrate the life we did have.  Taking this approach contributes to my healing.

Last week though marked the 3rd month of Jack’s passing.   I noted the day but made the choice not to give the day more attention than the fact it was a Friday.  The last thing that I want my life to be about is Jack’s death. To do so would just magnify my loss… and that would hurt, more.  For me it’s not a day to celebrate although yes it was a day that marked the end to his suffering.  Now however is no longer about him… it’s about how I will choose to live my life.

Jack will always be a part of me.  When you love someone as deeply as I love him our souls are inseparable.   My life now, without his physical presence, is about what I need.  I can no longer help him… or build the rest of my life around him.

I will honor my husband by the way I live my life.  I will honor myself by choosing to live fully and committing myself to living with as much joy and happiness as I can find.  It’s not always going to be easy and sometimes I’m going to be miserable.   Grieving is a process… and we all go through it.

If you’ve lost any one or any thing in your life that matters you’re grieving too.  Remember that it is your choice to heal or hurt.  Sometimes you won’t make a healing choice.  That truly is OK because tomorrow you can make a difference choice.  Be gentle with yourself, always.

With love, Cheryl

Moving On At All

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Reflections by Jack Maloney
Reflections by Jack Maloney

I have always tried to be strong… but I’m not.  Somethings in life are just inconceivable even when you realize they are staring you down.  When we experience the things that cut us off at the knees its hard to think straight let alone be strong.  At one point as Jack’s life was winding down I lay crying in bed and for the first time he said to me in his weakened voice, “No more tears!”  But I couldn’t stop crying…

When I thought I couldn’t cry any more… I’d cry again.  In my heart though I knew Jack didn’t want me to mourn his death. He wanted me to move on with my life.  He wanted me to cherish our good times and put the bad times and his dying behind me.  As I sit here and write this I remember his courage in the face of death yet I’m still crying.

I miss him.  I miss sitting in the living room, side by side, comfortable in our silence.  I miss him starting his day off reading photography blogs because I knew whatever nugget he gleaned from them would be implemented in a photo.  I miss him chopping up vegetables and us cooking together.

I don’t miss his suffering and I’d would never have wanted him to stay with me and suffer.  And the end of his life was all suffering.  I don’t want to remember the suffering.  When I have a bad memory of the last few weeks of his life I stop myself and shift my thoughts to a better time.  Reliving that pain serves no purpose for me… and now it is all about my life and moving on.

I know for me moving on doesn’t mean that I leave Jack or his memory behind.  He remains embedded in my soul.  I have to take what he has given me and use that strength to create what my life is to become.  Some call it finding “new normal” but there is nothing “normal” about all this, yet.

My life isn’t over because my husband died.  Instead a new life is beginning.  My family has longevity which means I could live another 30+ years… almost as long as Jack & I were married.  That’s a long time and I know I don’t want to stay in my sadness for the rest of my days.

We each get to decide what we want for whatever time we have left on this earth.  We each get to take a step forward… or to pause and gain our strength.  It is our choice to make.  Whatever you choose to do… do it for you, for your happiness, for your own soul. Because at the moment that’s all you need to do.

With love, Cheryl

Surviving Our Worst Nightmares

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Fotolia_39873238_Subscription_XLFor the last few months I’ve been living my worst nightmare.  For most of that time Jack didn’t want anyone to know.  He never wanted his life to be about having cancer and I respected his wishes. When he died though I was grateful for the support of family and friends who grieved with me and held me up when I just wanted to curl up in a ball and die too.

Every day is different.  I am grateful for the life I had with Jack and I know that focusing on all the good things will always make me feel better than thinking about my loss.   The days though that I spend alone are the roughest because I do think about all I’ve lost and of all the things I have to do alone now.  And it’s hard… very hard.

When I’m around others my grief doesn’t go away but I am able to focus on something else if only for a little while.  It is those times that enable me to realize that I will survive despite the intense pain and sorrow I feel.

What I’m learning is to allow myself to feel every emotion I have and to let it all out in a manner in which I feel safe and comfortable.  Sometimes that is when I’m alone. Other times it’s when I’m with those friends and family who are also grieving.  Once I let it all out the weight is lifted off my shoulders at least for a little while.  It is then that I can see beyond the now… and there is hope in being able to do so.

Being distracted by anything enables me to begin living my life again.  And I feel better when I do.  I’ve even laughed a time or two.  Jack would never wanted me to endlessly mourn his passing and I don’t want to stay there either.  For me that means that I need to move beyond my grief… at my own pace… and to allow myself to experiencing whatever comes my way.  It means saying “Yes” to new adventures and “No” when that is right for me.

Whatever I do honors both Jack & me because it’s always been about the choices we make.  I’m choosing to find a happier place in life despite living my worst nightmare at the moment.  And I know that Jack would be proud of me for doing so.  So along with having hope there is peace in that knowledge.  That makes happiness possible again… and it also means I will survive my worst nightmare.

And you will survive yours too. When time has passed and we’ve moved beyond the here and now we’ll be able to look back and acknowledged our strength.  Then we can make yet another choice… to not just be a survivor… but to thrive.  To find the joy in life.   Because joy is there… waiting for us to be ready to live in it.

With love, Cheryl

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