Northerngal

I did so well empting the closet of his clothes that the two of us shared. We kept off season clothes in bins in the basement and there is now one left of his summer short sleeved shirts. And for some reason I'm just not ready to go thru the shirts and get them to Goodwill. Keep telling myself that this is the time Goodwill will want them, but I seem to be"stuck!" Also there is a drawer in the entryway with his winter gloves and some hats and I'm just ignoring it. Funny, how suddenly I seem to be unable to deal with these things. It's almost as if I'm kicking him out of the house, but of course, I'm not. Reckon I'll know when I can deal with these things. Fred was an avid gardener and had pots of flowers everywhere - on the patio, on the front deck, by the walk to the lake. After I got all the patio furniture out, it looked just awful without any flowers. So I went shopping and now have some flowers around - planted most of them myself. I'd walk past his picture, and tell him, "Fred, you'd be so proud of me!" So now I'm enjoying learning to garden - and learning how often I have to water! Was interested to read that one of the gals got new linens for her bed. I just did the same thing. The new "look" looks good, BUT ..... Am also finding that I want to simplify my life. Just packed up my mother's crystal that I never use and put it in the garage. Will see if either of our daughters would like it. Northerngal

Father's Day! And no celebration for my 2 daughters - or for me! Another "first" to face and I hate it! Wish I could set the clock back 7 months, but know that is impossible - so onward and upward and grab another kleenex! Northerngal

I am very new to this site and in fact, this is the first time I've ever joined a forum of any kind. I lost my husband in early Dec. and feel that I'm adjusting fairly well. I have friends who have been very supportive; but, of course, the house feels very empty without my man. Thank goodness I have my dog! Our two daughters call me often, but both live far away in different states. I visited one of them for 2 weeks in May. There was still some snow in my yard when I left and it was summer when I returned. I didn't expect the change of seasons to hit me so hard. It was like a slap in the face. My guy loved to garden and his greenhouse would have held lettuce almost ready to pick and flowers waiting to be planted. Our anniversary is coming up on the 29th of this month and I tear up just thinking about it. There are so many "firsts" to confront. His birthday was in April and I found that I dreaded that day also, but on the actual day I was just fine. This is a real learning experience. His health was failing for the last couple of years and he died of a massive stroke. I have a whole new appreciation for caregivers! And when I look around there are so many wives in that role. I try to be as supportive to them as I can be. I find dinner time to be the hardest time of the day and have no interest in cooking for just myselt. Have found that Healthy Choice meals are among the best. Hopefully down the line, I'll start cooking again. I'm finding that a dozen eggs are too many - I end up throwing some - & I'm not able to buy half a dozen as the nearby stores don't sell them by the half dozen. Any suggestions on cooking for one would be appreciated! Northerngal