After more than 60 posts in this Life After Loss series, I am going to end it today.

It started on February 6, 2017, which was about two weeks after my late husband passed away. Now, at a little less than 18 months after his death, it is time for me to push myself to another level of recovery. From widow to single.

Last week, when I was at the salon and the new hairdresser asked me, “Are you married, with kids?” I was a little hesitant and said, “I am a widow with two adult step-kids.” Of course, she said, “Oh, I am so sorry.” It was never my intention to let others feel sorry for me because I haven’t felt sorry for myself for a long time. I know it is time to take off the WIDOW label.

I was quite emotional when I started typing this title. This series, all the posts, have been my way of coping and my way of grieving. Every single word from those posts was from the bottom of my heart. Real and raw. With tears, with struggles, and with the happiness of awakening. I never had intentions to write them for others. They are for me to document my journey. But, because of those posts, I have received thousands of emails. Messages, and comments from strangers. They all said the similar thing: that my posts have helped them, or someone in their life, to see hope again.

I have received many requests about writing a book about me and this journey. So, after this post, I will spend my whole July compiling all the posts together and add more content into my first book… Life After Loss: From Survival to Living a Dream Life—a Widow’s Grieving Journal. I haven’t decided on the tile completely,  so I welcome any suggestions and feedback. I am also looking for any connections that you can pass along to me, about who I can contact to publish my book!

Now that this Life After Loss series ends (I may still write a few more on some of my special personal dates), what is next? I plan to start a new series about self-empowerment. This topic has been very dear to my heart since my late husband passed away. I used to doubt myself all the time, and he was the one always helping me to find my confidence. But now, I am confident no matter what the circumstances are. Because I finally know who I am and what I am capable of accomplishing. Self-empowerment is for many of us. Those in need of practicing giving unconditional love to ourselves first. Growing into the best version of ourselves. So, I am thinking the title for this will be Being the Best of You. What do you think? Please give me your suggestions and feedback as well about this title.

I have waited for this moment a while. It is quite exciting, and a bit scary. Because I got used to carrying my widow label and hiding behind it. Now, I am a single woman. I cannot wait to see what I can create with my life.

You can read all the Life After Loss series here and Living with Cancer series here.

Photo credit: Grace Liang/@trentaendsley

Thank you for reading! If you like what you read, please comment below, or share it with your friends. For new post updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. For all the amazing fashion/beauty and lifestyle products I share, follow me on Instagram. Of course, remember to check out my daily Instagram stories to know me better as a person. Finally, make sure to follow me on YouTube for my fashion, beauty and lifestyle videos. Have a great day and see you soon!

|TODAY’S LINKUP PARTY:|

Grace
colorandgrace.com occasionally receives vendor/brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.

One reason I love traveling is to be close to nature, which often makes me realize how small my own pain is. It’s only a drop of the water in the ocean. Last week I went to San Francisco for a business trip, and I extended it as a mini vacation for myself. I visited Muir Woods National Monument, having the most magical and powerful experiences.

When I stepped on the tour bus, it was quite full already. There was an empty seat right behind the driver. I asked the lady who was to the left of the open seat if I could take it, and she said, “Yes, please!” We started talking on the way to the Muir Woods National Monument. When we stopped to have a quick peek of the Golden Gate Bridge, we were already feeling quite comfortable with each other. My new friend was working very hard to help me with the photos below.

She is a first-generation immigrant, like me, and she was on a business trip as well. We were both so impressed with the stories about the Muir Woods National Monument that our bus driver told us. When we arrived, we decided to continue hanging out together and taking the hike together too.

I’ve never seen a tree so tall and wide in my entire life. The tallest tree in the monument stands 258 feet tall. Which is insane, considering the seeds for these trees roughly equal the size of a tomato seed. The oldest tree is 1,200 years old (most are between 500 and 800 years old). As well as tall, trees at Muir Woods are exceptionally wide, reaching over 14 feet (you cannot hug one, they are too big!).

My new friend and I were like little kids, so connected with the woods. We were both touched by the stories about the family circles. Hundreds of years ago a single large redwood grew here. Then, disaster struck. The trunk of the large redwood died, perhaps by repeated and severe wildfires. From here you can see the original tree trunk still standing upright, now a dead and blackened snag. Despite such terrible damage, the tree did not die. Below the ground, its massive root system was full of vitality. Before long, hundreds of young, bright green burl sprouts began to come up around the circle formed by the root crown of the original tree. Some of those sprouts have grown into the full-sized trees that today stand in a circle around the original trunk.

It’s like life. I  went through hard times in my life. From fighting hunger to family abuse, and domestic violence. Then I finally found my true love and married him, and last year he passed away. I have enough reasons to hate life, but the longing for life keeps me alive and make me reborn over and over again. Like those thousand-year-old trees. They’ve been through everything. Yet, they’re still there, calm and loving.

The night I came home, I received a message from my new friend. I was tearing up when I read it. “Hi, Grace! It’s your friend from the Muir Woods forest 🌳. Just read some of your blogs… I’m sorry about your husband. Thank you for giving me perspective… You see, I’ve got cancer almost three years ago, had a surgery, then chemo. My hair grew back but not my eyebrows. But I gained a tremendous appreciation for life and meetings like ours. Your blog showed me how a family suffers when cancer hits one of its members. What can I do to ease their pain? Anyways, I’m going home tonight and will hug them warmly. And you, my random friend, be strong and know that you are not alone. Hugs 🤗” By the way, the lady in the photo below is her.

Those trees and my new friend made me appreciate so much again for being alive. There are no bigger reasons to celebrate life than just simply being alive! Always choose to face the sun. If it’s cloudy, I’ll be my own sun.

You can read all the Life After Loss series here and Living with Cancer series here.

Photo credit: Grace Liang/Bogna

Thank you for reading, and if you like what you read, please comment below or share it with your friends. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for new post updates. For all the amazing fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products I share, follow me on Instagram too. Of course, don’t forget to check out my Instagram stories daily to know me better as a person. Finally, don’t forget to follow me on YouTube for my fashion, beauty, and lifestyle videos. Have a great day, and see you soon!

|TODAY’S LINKUP PARTY:|

Grace
https://colorandgrace.com occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.