I’m only a few miles out from the cemetery and it begins to rain. The day is gloomy, so this isn’t quite a surprise, but I question myself and why I hadn’t thought to check the weather before I left the house. I glance over to the floor of the passenger side of the car and notice an umbrella slightly peeking out from underneath the seat. I feel relief. I know there will be some waterworks when I get to Mommom’s grave— it would’ve been her 96th birthday today—and I don’t need

When my dad passed away, there were many parts of my life that were completely altered, and many experiences in my future that I knew would never be perfect without him: my birthdays, Christmas, Sundays watching the Eagles. One of the biggest things that loomed over my head was my engagement and wedding to Marc. We had moved in together a mere 4 days prior to my dad’s heart attack. We knew our futures were together and what those special occasions would look like played lik

Remember being in school growing up and thinking to yourself in the middle of a lesson, “Whyyyy the hell are they teaching me this? I’m never going to use this information outside of here.” I did that especially with math. “I want to be a journalist,” I thought. “I’m not even going to use algebra in my career.” Next thing you know, I’m in my twenties, setting up equations to figure out how many bottles of Tito’s vodka I need to buy for the upcoming bachelorette party I’m att

I woke up to another sunny day on Wednesday, May 17th. Unbeknownst to me, I wasn’t appreciating it the way I should’ve been at the time. Instead of embracing the beauty of the city lit on fire by the sun’s rays, I groaned at the busy day ahead. I started to get ready in the new apartment I shared with Marc as of a mere four days before. An exciting time of our life for sure. But it is not excited I feel this morning; it’s annoyed. I stand at the sink, brushing my teeth, anno

He wore a suit. It was gray and a little bigger on him than it should’ve been. He wore dress shoes. The kind that clacked against the floor as he paced the room. He was fidgety. Constantly checking his phone, or his watch, or poking me for fun. He wore his bluetooth ear piece. Answering calls mid-sentence with a swift “Gary D!” He got up and looked out the window, as if to ponder a million thoughts with a single glance. I never understood the depths of what was goin