Trust the Path
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
The Dayton, Ohio Modern Widows Club community was started by Terry D. when she was unable to locate a widows group in her area. She contacted MWC and asked if there were any communities near her. At that time, the nearest was two states away. Terry attended a community advocate training program in Nashville and found her love for both MWC and the other widow advocates, motivating her to start the Dayton community.
The group launched in February, 2020 with five ladies in Terry’s living room. Then the pandemic hit, but that didn’t slow Terry down. She was committed to growing the community, and after a few months of setbacks she left her home open to anyone who wanted to come to a monthly meeting.
The Dayton community has since grown to 60 members, with Deborah J. and Melissa H. serving as co-advocates. The meetings average 15-25 widows every month, with new widows joining each time. Members meet in a private room at Lifepointe Church in Kettering, Ohio. The church has been very supportive and has held three bake sales to raise funds in support of MWC.
The Dayton community is all about love and being with other women who understand everything widows have to go through. Community members are there to support, encourage, and be a shoulder for all who attend. The community has held game nights with pizza and a Christmas get-together with gift exchange. Recently some of the ladies met on a Saturday to paint pottery. They find comfort spending time with those who just “get it.”
To learn more about the Modern Widows Club Dayton community, or our other regional, international, and virtual communities, just click below.
#WEE2023VIRTUAL
WEE Virtual is This Saturday!
This Saturday, we invite you to give yourself the gift of support and empowerment. In widowhood, each of us NEEDS this — and each of us DESERVES this.
Our life has changed in almost every way, and we had no choice in that decision. It can feel like life is out of control, so determining what fills us up with a feeling of power is critically important.
At our Widow Empowerment Events, we are all about deciding what powers us in life — and then doing more of THAT!
Come experience wisdom and insight from these speakers on these topics at our one-day Zoom-based event:
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, "What is Good Grief Support?"
Jen Mathews, "Joy and Laughter Even After"
Petra Gordon, "Unlock Your Widow Potential"
Tara Gidus Collingwood, "Eat Well and Move to Thrive"
Suzanna Kaye, "Get It All Together 101"
Juliette Brisman, "Resilience and Reinvention"
Cyndi Williams, "Turning Grief Into Growth"
WELLNESS WINDOW
Healthy Cooking Swaps
By Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, ACSM-CPT
As a dietitian and food enthusiast, one of my favorite things to do is cook and bake. To me, there’s nothing better than finding a unique recipe and creating it from scratch. Often times I have trouble deciding on a recipe since there are so many delicious options. When I find a recipe I really want to try, I don’t let the ingredients deter me from making it even if it’s very high in fat and calories. I simply choose a healthy cooking style and shake up the ingredients to make it more nutritious!
When choosing a recipe, one of the first things I look at is the cooking method. To ensure a healthier way of cooking, avoid recipes that use frying and sautéing, and pick one that uses roasting, baking, steaming, searing, grilling, broiling, or poaching. These methods use less oil, which means less calories and fat.
Another easy trick is to change up some of the ingredients — just swap them for healthier options. The following substitutions are simple and quick, while still providing great flavor.
Click below to continue reading Tara’s article — and register for WEE 2023 Virtual to join Tara LIVE on April 29 for her session “Eat Well and Move to Thrive”!
Tara Gidus Collingwood is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Personal Trainer, and fellow Wister. You can find her at dietdiva.net.
#ONEMILLIONWIDOWS
Every year in the United States, one million women become widows.
We invite you to join our #OneMillionWidows campaign to highlight International Widows Day on June 23. Share your story to raise public awareness about widowhood, educate friends and family, and help make a positive shift in how widows are perceived. It’s easy to participate!
Print our #OneMillionWidows sign (download below). Or create your own! Be sure to include the hashtag #OneMillionWidows.
Take a selfie with your #OneMillionWidows sign and email it to us at iwd@modernwidowsclub.org no later than May 31. Your photo may be used on our social media sites, website, blogs, and/or in video form to help spread the word about International Widows Day and raise awareness for widows around the globe. (By submitting your photo, you grant permission for this use.)
On June 23, post the selfie of you holding your sign on your social media accounts and share your widowhood story. Include the hashtags #OneMillionWidows and #InternationalWidowsDay in your post, and tag the Modern Widows Club Facebook page.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Embracing Your Feminine Energy
By Paula Harris
Losing a spouse is an incredibly challenging experience. The process of grief and healing can be long and difficult. It can also be an opportunity to tap into one’s inner strength and resilience and connect with others who are going through similar struggles. Embracing feminine energy, as a widow, can mean tapping into your intuition and empathy, being compassionate by nurturing yourself, and learning to receive from others. When we do all this, we can bring about positive change and transformation in ourselves and our communities.
It is likely you’ve had to draw on a lot of masculine energy just to survive the weeks, months, and even years after your spouse’s death. So many tasks need to be accomplished and decisions need to be made. Staying goal-focused might have been the only way to survive and move forward. You may have had to figure out your day-to-day finances and/or investments, retitle assets, and update your own estate plan. You may have been doing all this while working and raising your children. The demands on you physically and emotionally are draining. Wearing your cloak of bravery and staying purpose-driven was what you needed to do. You had to be self-reliant to figure it all out and just keep your head above water.
Click below to continue reading Paula’s article.
Paula Harris, co-founder at WH Cornerstone Investments, is author of “Rise Up: A Widow’s Journal.” She is passionate about building a community of support and empowering widows to navigate their path forward.
MWC BOOK CLUB
Join Us for Our May Book Club
Our virtual Book Club for widows meets on Zoom the third Monday of each month. Our next meeting is May 15 at 8pm ET, when we’ll be discussing A Heart Returned: Memoir of a 9/11 Widow by Juliette Brisman.
Juliette and Mark Brisman had a storybook romance and family life until one fateful day: September 11, 2001. Mark, who had arrived early at his office at Twin Towers 2 in New York City, became a victim of the worst terrorist attack on American soil. Juliette’s book offers hope and lessons learned through her own true and remarkable story of coping with devastating loss.
Click below to sign up for our Book Club, then join us in May for a thoughtful discussion — and register for WEE 2023 Virtual to join Juliette LIVE on April 29 for her session “Resilience and Reinvention”!
A WIDOW’S PATH
The View
By Janice Talbert
As we walk a path, our view changes. Even if we sit and rest a while with the same vista, the day’s light and weather will change what we see around us.
My view of widowhood and grief has evolved with time. Two years in, I can look back and acknowledge that my path has steadily led me up out of the abyss. There were days that I could only sit, and others that I had to conscientiously take one step at a time into the unknown.
Meeting with my fellow Wisters (widow + sisters) twice a month gave me hope of what lay ahead. Their willingness to share struggles, accomplishments, and joy encouraged me to keep striding forward. Their strength lifted me when my own waned. Through their example, I have learned to trust the path. I am forever grateful.
What started as the first written expression of my vision of grief has become a series of poems.
Path of the Abyss erupted from my core, portraying early grief and ending with hope (October 19, 2021).
The Start poured out a year later, and mixes hope with courage (October 1, 2022).
The View came spontaneously, and surprised me by revealing a vision of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come (March 22, 2023).
The View
Whew! That was quite a hike.
The air feels so clean up here
Oh, look at the patchwork color below
Down on the right is the Deep Valley of Despair
That portion of path was so difficult
Over to the left are the Rollercoaster Hills
They were disconcerting
And in front, is the sunrise...
I think I’ll sit and enjoy it as I ponder my next trail
Janice lost her husband and soulmate, Mark, in January 2021. Two months later, she found Modern Widows Club.
MWC ART CLUB
Connecting with Your Widow Sisters Through Art
Join Dr. Linda Shanti McCabe and your fellow Wisters as you create SoulCollage cards and connect through art. You don’t need to be a professional artist or have any previous art experience to enjoy our Art Club!
Our club meets on Zoom the first Saturday of each month at 12pm ET. Our next meeting is May 6.
Our club is free to join and attend. Your only cost will be your art supplies. Click below to sign up!