After a long day driving to Cincinnati, standing in a receiving line for nearly two hours, and sitting through a gut wrenching funeral, my traveling companion and I were exhausted. We got up yesterday morning and had a wonderful hotel breakfast. (I know…it sounds like an oxymoron. Try Hampton Inn Cincinnati/King’s Island) We stopped at the front desk, asked for a late checkout for 12:30 and went back upstairs and slept for two more hours. The beds were fabulous, the linens luxurious, and the room was quiet and well appointed with a fridge, microwave, and coffeepot. All for $80 with an AARP discount. I have found some great deals this month.

Deneene and I met Jamie for lunch at the Rusty Bucket. Really, really clean, great food, attentive staff…even Mr. Virgo would have given it his stamp of approval. Deneene and Jamie are both “Ranchers” and widows. Coincidentally, they were both introduced to me by high school classmates of mine. I first met Jamie two years ago when I did a “salon” with our mutual friend, Marion, who is an artist. Over lunch, we all talked about how far we’ve come in our journeys through widowhood. I loved listening to Deneene and Jamie discussing things they had learned by reading this blog. They spoke of the box where I placed my memories of Mr. Virgo…keeping him within reach where I can bring him out when I need to visit or work through something but not holding him right in front of my eyes all the time. Listening to them filled me with pride…pride in these strong women who have found a way to make something beautiful with their lives after suffering something so unbearable.

On the way home, I listened to Deneene’s stories as I watched the flat Ohio landscape slip by. My eyes wandered to the side mirror and it occurred to me these three brave widows made good use of the sand left in their hourglasses yesterday. We didn’t look back to lament where we’ve been. We all know that sucked. No…we looked back and celebrated how far we have come. Life comes back to us as we come back to life. ❤️

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ NIV