Are you a widowed woman who is absolutely dreading Valentine’s Day coming up next Tuesday? If you are, I invite you to my free phone gathering for widows. If this doesn’t apply to you (thankfully) please do pass this along to others who might be interested, or who might know someone, and ask them to #share it. I would very much appreciate the good turn.
Come join Life and Loss Transformation Coach, Iris Arenson-Fuller, PCC, CPC, on Monday evening, 7:30 -9 PM, Eastern Time, when Iris will host a Valentine’s Eve Helping Hearts Conversation, as a free gift to those who are widowed and struggling. Our friendly get-together will be held on a special private phone conference call line. If you have toll free calling provided by your phone service, the call won’t cost you anything, if you are in the U.S.
Holidays are usually very hard for those who have lost a close loved one. If you have lost your spouse, either recently, or even some time ago, and you are someone for whom Valentine’s Day had a special meaning, then you may be feeling you just want to hide under the covers on Tuesday. You may not want to come out till it’s all over. You may wonder how you will ever he happy again, or how you will cope with the memories that are flooding over you as you contemplate this holiday.
Maybe you are thinking that you just barely got through Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, (depending on which are your personal customs, and your family’s) and gulp….Now the stores here in the U.S. anyway, are full of red heart decorations, stuffed animals, funny or romantic greeting cards, balloons and candy…candy..candy.
There are some very unique challenges and adjustments that come with this role of being a widow. Of course, there’s the overwhelming grief, that sometimes stops you in your tracks, cuts off your very breath, almost knocking you down, each time you start to think you are doing all right.
If this is your very first Valentine’s Day without your spouse or partner, and you have celebrated it in the past it is likely to feel especially devastating. (Not everyone does celebrate. Some have religious objections and some people don’t go for the sentimental. It’s not their style. )
Maybe your friends and relatives are trying to understand your feelings. Maybe they are attempting to distract you by inviting you to some activity. That’s good , if you want to go, but if you don’t, it may be quite difficult for them to get why not, if they haven’t had a similar type of loss in their own lives. Maybe they want to understand, and mean well, but are telling you to “get over it”, or that “you are not the only one”, and they don’t realize how it makes you feel when they say such things. You may want to share memories with someone, but are finding that your friends and relatives will only listen just so long, before they suggest to you that it’s maudlin, and that you need to “move on”. You know you do, but you don’t know how. You wonder if you ever will be able to.
Your friends and family care about you, but many don’t know the right things to say to you, not only on Valentine’s Day, but in general.
So that’s why Iris is holding this session, where you can talk about this with her, and with some other women who DO know some of the things you are going through. Nobody has exactly the same feelings as you, because we are all unique. However, there are some common experiences and bonds when people have been through similar things. Even if you are a very private person, or are shy, you would be surprised how good it feels to spend some time talking with others in a like situation.
Iris has prepared some things for this special call on Monday night, February 13th, that can help you figure out how best to get through this upcoming holiday, and some other days. She won’t tell you what to do, or how to feel, but together we will explore some ideas you are likely to find useful. We will share some memories, if you wish, that honor your spouse and your past together. You can expect to emerge with a couple of good takeaways that are suited to your needs, designed by you and our group. There may well be both smiles and tears, so be prepared, but you won’t be forced to do or say anything you don’t wish to. You will be surprised how having this commonality can create a safe place for you, where you feel comfortable, even among strangers. Hopefully, we will even have a little fun. Yes, even widows are allowed to have fun! That’s part of your healing and growth, and your self-care. Laughter is really good medicine.
In order to participate, you will need to REGISTER very soon. If you are already a member of the private Widow to Widow Circle of Hope Group that Iris offers on Facebook, you may tell her there in the group, that you want to participate, and give her your email or Facebook contact info, if she doesn’t already have it.
If you are not now a member , please message Iris at www.facebook.com/visionpoweredcoaching or email her at ir**@vi*******************.com. Iris will send you the details on how to connect with the call on Monday night, February 13th, once you have made a commitment to attend by registering.
If you are in a country other than the US, Iris has a list of local numbers you can call to connect with our Valentine’s Eve Helping Hearts Conversation, but the conference call provider does not have local numbers in every country. You will still need to call your own phone service provider first to make sure you will not be charged for this at toll call rates. Again, U.S. callers who have free long distance service will not be charged extra by their phone provider.
The first step is to register by letting Iris know you wish to participate in the call. You are urged to do this as soon as possible.
Iris Arenson-Fuller, PCC, CPC, owner of Vision Powered Coaching, is a certified professional coach, credentialed by the International Coach Federation, and has also had many decades of experience working with couples, families and singles. Iris specializes in loss, grief, and tough life stage changes, as well as being an expert in adoption loss and all adoption issues.
Iris was widowed in her 30’s and has lost many family members. Though she has remarried, she has never forgotten the pain and struggles she and her kids went through. She gets particular satisfaction from helping widows survive and learn to find peace, new purpose and renewed joy, in whatever ways suit them, and are right for them.
Iris offers private coaching by phone and sometimes by Skype. She also offers other low-cost group sessions and programs, and sometimes free ones like this one on February 13th.
Register Now! You will be glad you took that step.