Should I feel guilty about being a merry widow?

4 Apr

**Losing my husband 6 years ago has been the single most difficult experience of my life.**

But, it has made me braver and committed to living the best life I can which is definitely what David would have wanted.

There’s hardly a moment that passes when he doesn’t pop into my mind and it always reminds me that life is short and we need to live life to the full and surround ourselves with the people and things that bring us joy. 2025 has been such a fun year for me, trying multiple art disciplines at lots of workshops, with no expectation to continue what I’ve learnt unless I wanted to. It was been a year of total immersion in the painting techniques I love plus in other arty things I hadn’t realised I loved until I’d tried them!

I normally visit my New Zealand family and friends annually as David and I lived there for many years. But, my elderly mother who lives in the UK caught covid in 2020 and has never really recovered from it.
I couldn’t risk leaving her for my usual big trips and decided to use the money I would have spent on art workshops and a dog sitter for Scruffy throughout 2025 instead.

It’s been an investment in my own art practice as I’ve had a chance to experiment with different media and techniques, many of which I will continue to play with.

You decide from the photographs which workshop I've enjoyed the most and let me know!