The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: WIDOW

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann. Hooray, we are coming to the close, which means I have written nearly 180 entries in this project -- proof that "little by little" is how to do this whole writing thing. :)

I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?

For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.

This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.

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WIDOW

My experience with widows has been as an adult. The one who provided the first and biggest impact on me was my mother-in-law. When her husband died suddenly at age 59, she was thrust into the widow role instantly and completely. She lived another 25 years, alone, and it seemed to suit her. She loved Dan, and missed him, but she also loved being on her own, making choices just for herself, not having to answer to or consider anyone else. I get it! So she was the first person to show me that even after a spouse dies, life carries on. One can experience a joyful, fulfilling life, even without a partner. These days I meet regularly with a group in which all are widows – except me. In this group I have discovered how differently different people handle widowhood. Regardless of how they experience it, the overwhelming reality is that life goes on, and it can be whatever you want it to be – which is a lesson for all of us, at any time in our lives. I'm grateful to these women for sharing their (rich, full, tender, funny, sometimes-dating) lives with me!