Shambolic Living

Two Years on The Grief Journey

Janine — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 22:59:42 +0000

So it turns out this grief thing doesn’t have an end date. The calendar says it’s been two years but our hearts still feel like it was yesterday. You’ve got no idea the number of people who drown, this summer has been a particularly bad one. I want to pass a law that nobody goes...

Christmas 2015

Janine — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:55:53 +0000

Christmas when someone is missing can be a tough gig. Robin Bailey wrote about the lead up to her second christmas since her husband’s death on Mamamia. While Christine Rasmusen on Second Firsts had some great advice for those struggling to deal with the holiday season. This year was our second christmas since we lost Simon.For...

And So I’ll Stand

Janine — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:06:54 +0000

By Brett Goshorn He never sat on the sidelines, He always stood, And I never paid much attention to it. But as the years passed, I found myself dragging an extra chair, To the weekly ritual of the round ball. Where it would be thrown on the cold earth, Unused, Wrapped in its shroud. The...

So There’s A Right Way To Do This?

Janine — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 11:45:08 +0000

I managed to catch a bit of Offspring last night. I know it’s a national crime but I’ve never watched the show. It appears Nina, who lost her husband at the end of the last season, is more advanced in her grieving process than I am. I tuned in just as she was having mad,...

Then The Dance Was Over

Janine — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 07:38:17 +0000

We spent some twenty-six years with our lives entwined. We were friends, a couple, formally husband and wife, then (god help us) parents. Twenty to Forty-Six it’s a big chunk of time spent in each others company. We were always a mismatched pair, big picture girl, detail orientated bloke. I liked things to happen, you...

30 Days Done and Dusted

Janine — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:36:53 +0000

Yippee. Doing a happy dance. I’ve posted every day for thirty days. Clearly not some of best work (although there were moments where there a sign of the old me in there), and I seem to have developed an obsession with all things death related (sorry, but I don’t think I’m done with that topic...

Thank You To A Stranger

Janine — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:40:00 +0000

On the day Simon died somebody had seen him fishing and a little while later noticed his gear was still on the rocks but he wasn’t. That was the person who called in the rescue guys. There is no doubt in my mind that the reason his body was recovered was because of that person’s...

Missing

Janine — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 11:40:53 +0000

There was someone missing this week. Someone who should have been there to celebrate the life milestone of a daughter getting a licence. Someone who should have sat me after the Senior Soiree, where his daughter displayed her art and sang her heart out, dissecting the evening with pride. Someone who should have suffered with...

Maudlin

Janine — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 12:45:43 +0000

Feeling maudlin tonight … perhaps having Nick Cave as my youtube mix was … well just ridiculous. Then I wandered into this … But it did lead me to this … which made me laugh (don’t watch if you are offended by the F-word ’cause well that’s the featured word of the segment). Taking myself...

Letter to the Husband

Janine — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 13:05:58 +0000

Dear Simon, How’s things with you? All harp music and fluffy clouds? Just a few things you’ve missed, the Blues won Origin, Ford has sacked 230 workers so manufacturing is in even more trouble, nobody likes the Lib’s budget and Kim Kardashian got married. Kardashian … the reality TV … oh never mind. I took...