how did i get here?

my husband, my beautiful Dragon, died suddenly at 12:03 AM on 9 February 2009. there was a cold, lovely full moon and 3 feet of snow on the ground. i "slept" for the following 10 months and "woke" to the physical and emotional pain and torments of deep grief. i "woke" to find i had moved the day of his funeral and that i am lost. i am looking for me while i figure out the abstract, unanswerable questions that follow behind any death. my art has evolved. his death changed that as well because i am forever changed and will forever bear the mark of losing the only man i can ever love.
there is alive and there is dead and there is a place in between. i am here wholly in my heart for my children, but i feel empty inside at this time. i miss him. i have not gotten very far in my grief journey. i make no apologies for this.
this is my place, my blog, where i write to tell the universe that i am still here.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

beauty among the ruins

there is a wonderful book by Robert Clark titled "Love Among the Ruins" about two teenagers who fall in love during 1968.  the title has stuck with me for a long time and came around to my mind again shortly after my Dragon died.

and approaching 5 years, which, if you're read the previous couple of missives here, is hitting me pretty hard.
 i love my dogs....
... and my children.....
...and my grandson.

i like sewing.  i would like to get back to painting and making stained glass.  this last quilt commission to finish; which is approaching over 550 hours of work, and i will be free of the pressure of another person's judgement. my time free time off from work will be my own for the first time in 5 years.  i look very much forward to that.

this commission has been huge.  hundreds of hours.  no more compensation for my work. after asking for so much, she now says she is "strapped for money."   i have ended up resenting this commission.  i am finishing this pro bono.  *sigh*  i do not understand as i see her photographs of her and her new husband, the things they get to do, their trips.  but maybe they get those things cheaper than they appear, or they were gifts.  i do not know and should not judge.  it is my duty to finish this quilt and i will do so.
i feel like i am living among the ruins of my life:  a tiny apartment {but it's mine}, a job that takes away a lot of my soul {but i renew it everyday with thoughts of him, my children, my grandson, taking photos of the sky, etc.}, loneliness for him i can do nothing about {i talk to him though, and i talk to God}.

there is beauty among the ruins of my life.  i brought the photo up there under my blog title over from a page from Facebook; a page called Earth Porn.  it reminds me of Van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night."  i made me smile and stare at it, and come back to it.  i think it is beautiful.  had i be fortunate to be present on that day, i would have stayed outside until dark, or the clouds passed.  

there is beauty in the world in the shape of clouds and those of us left behind.

i miss my Dragon so very much.  five years is a long time to be without him.  it's a long time to sit here and know it will be longer before i hope to see him again.  five years of life among the ruins, but there is so much beauty here that i can take in and keep in my memories.
there will be a lot of tell him about when we meet. 


5 comments:

Judy said...

If the quilt is made for her deceased husband, and she has a new husband, by the time she gets it, she probably will not be all that thrilled either..no doubt being passed her grief now. Five years is a long time, and I know your heart and I know that it isn't all that much easier then it was the first couple of years. February is a cruel month..

Judy said...

I wonder if she is embarrassed about getting the quilt because of the new husband?

Anonymous said...

I just want you to know that I am here. I don't comment a lot, I just respect this as a place for your voice. But I do visit often. As I process my grief I find reading another's process helpful. I am at the 4 year mark this week with my son's home-going. It seems forever and a blink at the same time...
Nancy

abandonedsouls said...

thank you to both of you for your words.

Anonymous said...

Came to this site about a year ago, and check in regularly, though don't often leave a comment. I came here, in tears, few weeks ago, and your post at that time gave a great deal of comfort, for which many thanks. After reading your post, realised I should have left a comment on just how much I appreciate your blog. I am rooting for you and wishing you happiness, peace and an unexpected windfall! Very best from Sarah x

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