Writer, author, blogger, editor, Kathy Rhodes , (front,) meeting life's turbulent waters head on! Photo: First Draft.
Why do I write so much about Grief? I've experienced a hefty
share
of it. It's given me an opportunity to learn from it. Grief has
become somewhat of a sub-theme of my Life's work. I want to share with
others through my writing and speaking–that if we move through
the difficult, the difficult becomes a little lighter and the Good a
whole lot Richer.
A writer friend in town whom I admire greatly and mentioned here, writes a creative nonfiction blog of note: First Draft, Laying Down the Words. I delight in Kathy Rhodes' rich descriptions of life–the big and the small. Below, she tackles one of the big. When I emailed her asking permission to publish the following post she'd written to her deceased husband, she replied: "I don't mind if you
use my "Passage" post. These are things that people with grief and loss
deal
with, and nobody knows how to speak to it."
Passage (or An Open
Letter, Part 2)
By kathyrhodes
My dear husband,
So much has happened. And you weren’t here for it. At least, not that
I could see. Oh yes, I think you were here. I think you are the reason I
have slept so peacefully and soundly at night. I think you have
breathed your logic over me and enabled me to carry on into the wind. I
think you are the reason for my sheer happiness instead of utter
devastation after losing my job last month, when I, the breadwinner with
a mortgage and bills, faced no income. But you weren’t here to
physically hold my hand through it or to hold me and tell me it’s going
to be okay. You were always my solid anchor when I would be climbing the
walls.
Two Christmases, and you weren’t here. I bought myself gifts and
drove seven hours to spend the holiday with my older son. The first
year, the younger son rode with me. This past Christmas, I drove alone.
The first Christmas, we put your favorite Vols cap on the top of the
tree. This past Christmas, we didn’t.
Continued: Passsage (or An Open letter, Part 2)
I first met the warm, friendly, energetic Kathy as an organizer of the Williamson County Council on the Written Word, a busy group of writers I wrote about here and here. In her post, above, Kathy writes about seeing the opportunity in a job loss, (with which Life also presented me the opportunity of nearly 30 years back). Kathy is launching TurnStyle, a new writing, editing & "publishing solutions" business, and is also teaching Creative Nonfiction classes beginning next week. I hope to sign up when life settles down (?) in the fall!
And for closing, lick your chops on this fine piece of writing also from Kathy's Blog: Moon in My Yard.
