Abigail Carter: the Alchemy of Loss: A Young Widow’s Transformation

Among the million other things I have on my plate at the moment, I am attempting to follow a seven-week course called “Calling in ‘The One’.” I mention this sheepishly, since it sounds kind of hokey. Plus, the website is all pink with lots of swirly script-type fonts, which...

It seems that along with the perils of blogging and online dating comes the online break-up, sometimes as an indirect result of a post. My last blog-post opened an email dialogue between Seattle and Hawaii (where CHA is on a long visit) that I hadn’t anticipated. Some issues had...

My friend Theo Nestor has just written an essay on dating as a widow for Match.com based on an interview we did together. Thought some of you might be interested. ...

Sitting in a car, that was parked in a ferry slicing across the Puget Sound on a sunny mother’s day, he looked at me with a pained expression. We had spent a night on Vashon together with Carter and I had made a gaffe. Sleeping arrangements were taking us...

Spring morning, Vashon Island, WA with view of Mt. Rainier A perfect spring morning, the water smooth, teal silk. The mountain shows its shy face, both miniature and overwhelming at once. Tea on the deck in the sun after a cold, blustery, soggy Seattle week. The mothers are called one...

It began innocently. Carter playing a game on my iPhone impatient to go to an appointment he didn’t want to go to because he didn’t want to miss school. Who WAS this child? The text message that popped up was meant for my eyes only. Carter’s eyes widened. I...

I have been perusing blogs lately to see how other single parents have dealt with introducing their kids to a new partner. It seems there are no clear cut answers. The advice ranges as follows: 1. You shouldn’t even consider dating until kids have moved out of the house 2. You...

My friend Peg wrote a great essay for RedBook about conquering her fear of driving after a crash and there is a bit she wrote that I can’t get out of my head. She took a defensive driving class, learning to negotiate the road, face her fear. But it...

I have been undergoing a little experiment with regards to dating, which is to not date. To not actively seek, to be content in my single-dom. I am so tired of the online thing. And I have given up trying to make eye contact with any guy in this...

As I reflect on what would have been my 19th wedding anniversary, I continue to wonder, What if? Of course it’s impossible to imagine and yet, I still can in a way. Tonight we might have sat in a quiet restaurant somewhere nibbling sushi, or maybe we would now...