and took away the reward I had worked so hard to earn.
Even then, my focus never shi ed. In the middle of betrayal, loss and professional heartbreak, I was still centered on my husband’s health. Business could fall apart. Plans could collapse, but he had to be okay. I see it more clearly now. I was the one who made it all happen. I planned the trips, hosted the parties, moved mountains to create a life that looked and felt thriving. IN the beginning we were partners in every sense of the word. Somewhere along the way, I became the driver. My husband was good, kind, loving and extraordinarily funny. He made me laugh almost every day of my life, and because of that , my life felt full. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that was everything.
And yet now-
I am a WIDOW
Not because I stopped loving. Not because our story ended. But because death arrived, uninvited and rewrote everything.
I am a WIDOW
In the quiet of the morning, In the empty space beside me. In life, I now must learn how to carry on alone.
You can ask a widow how she’s doing. e answer is usually, “I’m okay.” Saying anything else feels too heavy. Too honest, too vulnerable. Okay is safe. Okay doesn’t invite pity or awkward silence. Okay masks the nights spent staring at the ceiling, the meals eaten in silence, the laughter that no longer echoes beside you. But inside, “okay” is not enough. It’s a word too small to hold the life that has been shattered, reshaped, and still somehow kept together. No one understands how quiet it is when you eat alone. e clink of a fork against a plate, the hum of the refrigerator, continued
Coastal Pearl Living - INSPIRE 39
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