For nearly two years now, I’ve been experiencing an extreme amount of stress. Some days and weeks have been harder than others, but there hasn’t…
I want to have adventures. Ideally, I want to have some of those adventures with someone I love. Or at least I’d like to have some…
Ten years ago today, I became Mrs Ryan. I stood there at the altar in front of God, family, and friends – with my beloved Paul beside me – and…
I rolled over this morning in a sleepy haze to snuggle up to Paul, sure he would be there lying next to me. But he…
I spoke the other day about the higher-than-normal levels of personal stress I’m experiencing, and that I feel I need a break from my current way of…
Life is hard these days and sometimes I wonder what my limits are. Sometimes I wonder how many more disappointments and frustrations I can manage…
As the Easter Bunny didn’t leave me any eggs to find at home today, I had to arrange for a wee treasure hunt of my…
I think one of the hardest things about dating as a widow(er) is the guilt that comes along with it. Worse is that some of…
As part of World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month, the PKD Foundation has asked people to share their PKD stories. This is mine. First, some key bits of information…
Dating is hard. Dating in your late 30s and early 40s is hard. Dating as a widow is hard. And trying to do all three…
From time to time, I get emails from people reading my blog. And today was one of those days. It seems that a relatively new widow, Lucy*,…
Today is the first day of Lent, and also a fasting day in the Catholic Church. I’ve decided to observe several fasting days over the Lenten period…
I’ve decided to dedicate February to getting back into a good, healthy routine. The idea is this: If I can re-focus enough of my energies,…
Sometimes I feel like the world is laughing at me; like life is laughing at me. Sometimes I feel like my entire life has been one failed…
What’s a penny worth to you? Is it worth stopping what you’re doing so that you can bend over and pick it up? What if…
Welcome to 2015! It’s a new day; a new year; a new opportunity for happiness and joy! And as always, I’m choosing to start the…
The end of a year can only mean one thing: An obligatory end-of-the-year reflections post! At the start of the year, I had grand visions of…
Christmas is a special time in my world because it is the celebration of my saviour’s birth. And as it’s a birthday celebration, birthday wishes…
Yesterday marked one calendar year since I matriculated as a research student in the Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University. It’s hard to believe…
Yesterday’s writing prompt was to write “I am” ten times, then fill in the rest of the sentence. Today’s was to write “I want” ten…