Eight weeks ago, I kissed Jason for the last time. Eight weeks ago, I heard Jason laugh for the last time. Eight weeks ago, I woke up next to Jason for the last time. Eight weeks ago the center of my world dropped away. Eight weeks isn’t very long. It isn’t long enough to break…
Month: June 2017
6-21 Physical Effects of Grief (And an update on my health)
When I write these blog posts, I know I am writing to people in my community now. But I also hope I am writing to someone in some future time who is looking for stories – real, honest stories – of grief so they can process their own. I keep thinking about that as I…
6-14 Anniversaries
Marriage in Vanuatu is done in 3 (main) parts: the spiritual/personal, the legal, and the kastom or community acknowledgement. We didn’t know that before we left for the Peace Corps, but that’s pretty much what Jason and I did. We signed some papers for the legal piece, and talked through our own personal piece. Then…
6-8 Death Certificates
Today I read Jason’s death certificate. I put the paper on the table in front of me and read it through, line by line, including the Great Seal of Minnesota. There isn’t a lot there to read. It’s just line after dry, factual line, summarizing a life based on his major relationships, and at the…
6-7 Scum of the Earth
**Warning adult language ahead** This is going to be short and a bit of a call to action, both specifically and generally. There aren’t a lot of feels here, so you don’t need the tissue box. Last week, a friend brought to my, and the larger community’s, attention that Jason’s name and image were…