Today would have been my 15th wedding anniversary. And in this very strange time of social distancing and self-isolation, I find myself missing Paul even…
Today marks 11 years since my beloved husband, Paul, passed away so unexpectedly. His death has impacted my life more than I ever could have…
It has been 10 years since JustFrances.com entered the blogosphere, so I thought it was time for a reflective post to mark the milestone. After all, the average…
It has been 14 years since I became Mrs Ryan, although most of that time has been spent as a widow rather than a wife. Yet…
Today is Thursday, 21 February. I was born on Thursday, 21 February. And on this very Thursday, 21 February, I am 21 in Scrabble tiles.…
I am a widow. I was widowed when I was a young woman of 35 and my life has never been the same since. In the…
Note: This is one of a series of Zadar posts with photos. The other two are: Zadar: A Catholic girl’s paradise and Zadar: Everyday life for an everyday…
As part of my desire to create better, healthier routines for my physical and mental well-being, I decided I needed to get back into the habit of enjoying my…
Way back on February 6, 2002, my friend bailed out on a day trip to St Andrews. With nothing better to do, I decided to walk…
I went to the cemetery to see Paul today, and ended up digging away under his headstone. I hadn’t really planned on that, or I’d have…
You may know by now that I’m a big fan of Martinis. It’s not that I’m a big drinker; I just like my RyanCentric Martinis a bit.…
Two weeks before Paul died, we had a conversation about our futures, should one of us die—a conversation sparked because it was the anniversary of…
I managed to survive Christmas alone. I won’t lie and say that it was easy. In fact, it was so very hard. My broken heart…
Another year, another birthday. Only he’s still not here to celebrate. My Paul would be 51 years old today, but instead he will forever be…
The day you’ve all been waiting for has arrived! Today is the day that I completed one of my life goals. Yes, today is the…
Graduation is on Friday and I’m really dreading looking forward to it. Oops, did you catch that error? Well, if I’m honest I’m not looking…
I alluded to a big step toward a happier future the other day, but also said I wouldn’t share the big(ish) news just yet. Only…
Sometimes I think about dating. Only it’s a confusing topic for me. Not the dating part; I know how to do that. It’s more the…
First, an apology for my absence the last week. I’ve had some website glitches and had to enlist the help of some amazing friends who…
There is something ever-so-cruel about random memories. OK, not always. In fact, most of the time random memories are happy moments. But sometimes, like today,…