Today is not my birthday. But it does mark the day that I am older. Oh, sure, every day is a day that we are…
Today is my “would be” 16th wedding anniversary. Yes, it has been 16 years since I laughed at the altar in my hometown church and…
Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Week! This year’s theme is “Nature as Therapy” and is a theme I can really get behind. I mean, I…
I met a man when I was out walking the other day and the encounter provided me with so much to ponder about life –…
Another year has gone by without my husband by my side. After 12 years of this horrible widow life, I have come to know what…
Today marks one year since the UK’s COVID19 lockdown measures became “law” – three days after the “stay home” orders were announced. Since then, the…
This morning was one of those days. It was one of those days when I woke up and I wasn’t a widow. I woke up…
Over the past two months, I have gone back through every single one of the 1,400+ posts here on my blog, as part of the…
As Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) wraps up here in the UK, I find myself reflecting on my mental health in relation to the COVID19…
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…
Yesterday was a monumental day here in the UK when the Prime Minister put the nation on (essentially) a full lockdown. It wasn’t really unexpected,…
Towards the end of last week, people around the UK and the USA were beginning to increase their social distancing and self-isolation practices, with many…
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…
My primary goal for 2020 is to be a stronger and more confident me. But if I’m honest, it’s a goal that I have been heading…
And with that, it’s time for another annual re-cap post. Although quite how we’ve got to 31 December 2019, I couldn’t tell you! Yet, here…
On my way to the Death Café a couple of weeks ago, I wandered through a couple of old kirkyards at the base of the Edinburgh Castle.…
I attended my first “Death Café” last weekend. I had heard about these events in the past but had never had the time to attend,…
It has been a long time coming, but I am finally a doctor. Oh yes, I am now officially Dr Frances Ryan. The PhD kind…
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…