Featured Image by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
Hello, everyone! Time sure does go by fast sometimes, doesn't it?
Before you continue reading, I want you to know that this post may be triggering for some folks. If you don't feel ready to read about topics like loss, death, grief, or home ownership1, stop reading now and do something else. And remember, you are loved and worthy of that love, no matter what you are going through.
If you need to talk to someone, no matter the issue, no matter where you are…
Head over to https://findahelpline.com/. Talk with a crisis counselor today. Verified global support for anxiety, depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence, sexual abuse and more.
The last time I posted, I had finished up my series on server-side rendering and had every intention of doing more posts on other topics, but as John Lennon famously said (and probably borrowed from Allen Saunders):
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
While I had plans, life happened.
My last post was in August 2022 and life was amazing. Earlier that year, I had met the love of my life (so far) and had been enjoying an amazing summer building a relationship that we both knew would last forever. In October, just two months later, Martha died of a stroke, aged 39. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans, and so is Death (it's a big D kinda word). It is an understatement to say that it came as a shock; my world fell apart in an instant and I am still working to rebuild it into something new. Not only did I lose her, but so did her family, including her daughter, and I miss and worry about that smart, sassy, and curious girl every day.
In 2021, about a year earlier and before I ever met Martha and her daughter, I had decided to buy a new home. It was a condo being built in my neighbourhood and I was excited to become a homeowner again to begin a new chapter, post-divorce, post-pandemic. I signed some documents and paid my deposit, then watched as construction proceeded. During this time, I met Martha, fell in love, learned that love could be very different than what I had known before, and became excited that this new condo would be a place where we could build memories together. Life happened. The whole time I was building my relationship with Martha, I could see the progress as folks were building my new home. I remember being on a call one time with my parents while Martha was at my apartment, and I joked that she wasn't invited – it was my new home, but of course I didn't mean it, she was most definitely invited.
In July this year, on Martha's birthday – something I did not plan, I finally moved in. Moving is a great distraction and goodness knows, grief needs distractions. Though I am an atheist and I don't believe in ghosts, grief is a powerful thing and I was genuinely worried about moving. I was worried that if I moved, Martha would not be able to find me; that I was leaving her behind. With hindsight, this was a foolish thing – love isn't anchored to times or places, only to ourselves. I can see that now. My new condo is amazing and I love it, and she is everywhere I need to see her when I most need to feel her love. I talk to her everyday. I wish she was here to talk back.
Since she passed, among other changes, I stopped taking dancing lessons (though I might start again one day), and I started trying stand-up comedy. At this point in my life after the experiences of the last five years, I carry this distinct feeling that nothing matters except that which we choose – it's a scary place to be but it is also powerful and liberating. It is a lot easier to stand up on a stage and tell jokes when you really do not care that much about what others think.
There is so much more I could write about these last two years and about grief, and maybe I will, at some point. For now, what am I trying to say? I am trying to say that this sucks, that I miss her everyday and wish you had got to see just how bright she made every room she entered. I am trying to say that I am still growing and learning. I am trying to say that it gets easier. I am trying to say that I am still here and I still intend to write more blog posts. I am still making other plans.
Soon, within a few days of Halloween, it will be the two year anniversary of Martha's death (perhaps I will start counting her death in years instead of months, though I suspect it will be both). Halloween was arguably her favourite holiday (she loved a good costume), and I'm thinking about aligning my housewarming party with that holiday to honour her, create new memories, and build the future I have to live without her (though not without her love). In the meantime, I've been busy trying to make a home that I am comfortable in, both within my new condo and within myself. Some days are easier than others.
Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans; making other plans is what creates the circumstances for that life to happen.
🖤
If you need to talk to someone, no matter the issue, no matter where you are…
Head over to https://findahelpline.com/. Talk with a crisis counselor today. Verified global support for anxiety, depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence, sexual abuse and more.
- I don't mean to make light of the heavier topics, and I think humour is a valuable coping mechanism [↩]
