Author: 2020101_wpadmin

In April of last year my stepson died from a drug overdose. Right in the middle of the pandemic. At that time, the state of Texas had a rule about no gatherings of over ten people. No one was having funerals. My stepson’s mother, my husband’s ex-wife, was in charge. She wouldn’t listen to reason… Continue reading anonymous

I lost my wife at the end of July and my son in the beginning of November. My wife’s birthday was Feb 26th and my son’s was Feb 27th. She would have been 70, he 35. I don’t have words. 💔

We’ve all intersected with grief this year, whether it’s been due to the collective loss of lives, of people we know closely, people we’ve admired from afar, or friends and relatives of people we know. We’ve grieved our daily routines, our many impromptu adventures and meetings, or just the space to do everything or nothing.… Continue reading sara s.

My friend Heather and I lost our AMAZING high school choir / music teacher. She was as much a nurturer as a brilliant conveyer of musical skills. She changed lives with every project she put forth – from musicals to jazz competitions. I loved her as a teacher – but, moreover, with the advent of… Continue reading tim r.

In the fall, my dear friend Martha Bixler died. Not sure of the cause – it was not COVID. I had known her since 1962. I think I met her when I was turning pages for a harpsichordist who was playing for a small group that Martha was also in. I was probably the worst… Continue reading kitty s.

Since I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had my related existential crisis in 2019, I was still processing my grief and experiencing post-traumatic growth when the pandemic hit. So it was interesting to stand by and watch the rest of the world take the red pill and slowly wake up to their mortality a… Continue reading laura r.

We lost my wife’s older sister Kim just before Thanksgiving after a long battle with cancer. It is incredibly difficult to heal and gain closure being separated by the pandemic. Kim had a place above the village that she hiked to often in spring, summer, and fall, and would snowshoe to in the winter. We… Continue reading james h.

A very good friend suffered heart failure in September of last year. She was in a medically induced coma for two weeks and then her husband (also one of my closest friends) decided to let her go. What was tough was that I couldn’t escape the situation even at work because my boss (also a… Continue reading heidi n.

In February of 2020 my husband was admitted to the hospital. By the second week of March we were fighting to even get into the hospital to see him. The lockdowns had just started here in Iowa. We were told he would need to be placed on hospice and we had to move him to… Continue reading misty b.

For the past year, the pandemic itself hasn’t affected me other than working from home and isolation from people. Which in and of itself is different and hard. But while I knew people who got sick no one close to me has died in the past year. Except for one person. Her name was Mary… Continue reading michawn s.