Participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge

This week I’m at the Calvin Faith & Writing Festival. Calvin College (now University) is where I met my late husband. In this poem, Mary Oliver speaks about grief and laughter, both of which are present in a widow’s journey. It’s been almost six years since Marv died, and I know he’d be happy that I’ve mostly moved on to happiness and laughter. I will think of him as I walk the campus, even though Calvin is on a new campus since the sixties.

I’ll also be thinking of my sister Esther Van Zytveld. Esther passed away at this time in 2017. We went together to this Festival several times and had so much fun. She ‘d go as a reader, and I’d go as a writer. We’d attend separate sessions and share what we’d learned every night over a Wendy’s salad in our hotel room. After the Festival I’d drop her off nearby at her home in Michigan, and I’d head back to Chicago.