Life As A Young Widow: WWJD
Asking Myself “What Would Joel Do” Has Been My Compass
When my former business partner and I ran a small company, we sometimes felt like we were in over our heads. Decisions weren’t always easy, and the path we thought we were on seemed to change on a daily basis. So whenever we had a conundrum of any kind, we would joke and ask each other, “WWJD?” The “J” in our case, was my husband, Joel — “what would Joel do?”
Joel single-handedly made up our advisory board. He was not only full of common sense, but he was smart, thoughtful and believed in us more than we ever could have believed in ourselves. When we were stuck and confused, or excited and elated, he would calmly offer sage wisdom and advice about what lay before us… and he was always right.
It has been difficult not having him here as I navigate these waters of widowhood. He would know what to do, what to say and how to handle all of these strange, new things I’m experiencing as a widow at mid-life, raising our young teenage daughter on my own. He would also know how to handle the myriad of things people say to me in their attempt at being kind, supportive and comforting.
I recognize that some people see me as poor Melissa. I can tell that others see me and think I don’t know how she does it! Lots of people need me to be OK…
