• Wedding ring of Marjorie Brimley DC widow blog writer that was remade into a cocktail ring
    New Perspectives

    The Ring

    I took it off for the first time as an experiment. Since the day I was married, I wore my wedding ring constantly.  I know many people take their rings off every night but that wasn’t me.  I knew if I took my ring off, I’d lose it.  So no matter where I was – the pool, the gym, the sink, the bed – I kept my wedding ring on. As we gained financial stability, Shawn would ask me if I wanted a “nicer” ring someday.  “No!” I always told him, emphatically.  I loved that ring.  “I don’t want a new ring,” I’d say to him.  “This is the ring…

  • Hospital corridor and beam of light representing DC widow blogger Marjorie Brimley seeing death
    New Perspectives

    Thestrals

    After years of reading terrible books like Captain Underpants, Austin finally showed interest in starting the Harry Potter series. A few months ago, we began reading the first book, and we’ve progressively moved through the story. It’s a compelling one, with characters and themes that are far beyond those easily understandable by a 7-year-old. One of the magical creatures that appears in the series is a thestral. I had to actually look up the definition of this bat-like, horse-shaped creature online, and once I did I remembered that it was a special kind of supernatural being: the thestral is only visible to people who’ve seen someone die and accepted that…

  • House in Southern California near where the DC widow Marjorie went to collge
    Things That Suck

    Lullaby

    A few months before my mom died, I broke up with my first boyfriend (who I’ll call Steve in this post.) Steve was good to me, and we were in love – at least in that way that 19-year-olds without a care in the world can be. But I had dated him since high school, and we both wanted to see who else was out there. I spent the summer that followed our break-up working at an amazing summer camp, Bruin Woods, and I met all sorts of new people. One of those new people I met was James. James worked as the camp’s fisherman, taking people out on early…

  • Join or Die banner in DC widow blog writer Marjorie Brimley's house
    Things That Suck

    Careful

    I could tell about halfway through my run this morning that I was going to have to quit early. It happens sometimes. I think I’m okay, and then running puts me into this zen-like place where I start pondering the big questions in my life. And then the tears come. Sometimes I can run through them. Sometimes I can slow down, and lean against the side of the treadmill and breathe and then start again. But this time I had to stop. I saw the fat tears drop on my shoes and I gave into my sadness. The tears were not about Shawn. Well, they weren’t exclusively about Shawn. I…

  • Hand writing a letter to DC widow blogger Marjorie Brimley and her daughter
    Family & Friends

    The Letter

    The letter arrived in the mail a few weeks ago.  It was addressed to me.  Inside, I found two notes from an old friend of Shawn’s – someone he knew in university who we’d kept up with over the years. “I wrote a note to Claire,” the first note said, “and I want you to look over it and see if it’s okay for her to read.” I opened up the next piece of paper.  Inside was a 2-page typed letter addressed to my daughter.  “Dear Claire,” it began, “You might not remember me, but I have heard about you since you were born. Your father Shawn and I were…

  • DC widow blogger Marjorie Brimley with late husband Shawn Brimley
    Missing Shawn

    Young Love

    I was flying to the Cayman Islands to take a break from my life.  It was just after Christmas, and the plane was filled with people vacationing.  I located my seat, and then I saw the people sitting next to me – a really young couple who were holding hands. I took a deep breath and sat down.  I’ve written before about how hard it can be at times to hang out with my happily married friends.  But a newly in-love couple….well, that’s a whole other ball game. “Hi!” the girl said in the happiest voice I’d heard in a long time.  She was darling, and so was the boy…