• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

Widowed

Jon died unexpectedly at the age of 79. I thought we'd have many more years together. We won't.

Widowed: Life Goes On — And Some of Us Still Like It

December 18, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

life goes on, as with this crocosmia-sprouting-through-a-deck Like it or not, life goes on. Our 101-year-old family friend had picked up the phone to check on me. If that’s not liking life, what is?   Read more.

Widowed: Or, How to Wrestle a Christmas Tree Into Its Stand Without Calling the Neighbors for Help

December 11, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

watering-the-Christmas-tree

The kids are coming for Christmas. A tree is in order. But how’s an newly minted widow to wrestle a Christmas tree into its stand on her own?  Read more.

Breaking News: The Afterlife Is ‘Fantastic’

December 4, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

the afterlife is fantastic
This just in — the afterlife is “fantastic.” That’s the news from Jon. And he should know, he’s been in the afterlife since February. Read more.

Widowed: As He Lay Dying

November 27, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

as he lay dying -- but he was healthy three months earlier to hangs-quilt

I wasn’t in the hospital when Jon died. I couldn’t hold his hand or say any words as he lay dying. Did he know his life was coming to an end?  Read more.

Talk to My Deceased Husband? I Can’t Do It

November 20, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

man-on-recumbent-bike

Talk to my deceased husband? Some widows can. Not me. I can’t talk to Jon without going to that awful place where he is no more.  Read more.

Widowed and the We-Ness of Marriage

November 13, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Father-with-two-grown-kids

I’ve been widowed nearly nine months now, and I still can’t let go of the we — the we-ness of marriage. Here’s why.  Read more.

What Do You Say When Someone Dies?

November 6, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

condolence-cards

What do you say when someone dies? How to console a friend? There’s not much you can say do do — except to just be there.  Read more.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Page 16
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 18
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

She’s Shaved Her Head Bald — Is Our Daughter Headed for the Dark Side?

the top of the head of a pretty bald girl. Photo by Barbara Newahll

Christina had shaved her head bald. What was next? Multiple nose rings? Twelve-inch fingernails? Scarification? Crack cocaine? Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

A portion of a crazy quilt made in 1971 by Barbara Falconer Newhall of calico fabrics in primary colors. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Quilt From Hell — Forty-Two Years Later, It’s Still Not Finished

jonathan-newhall-gravestone

Widowed: Shouldn’t I Be Over It by Now?

Christina Newhall, age 7, playing tug of war at a party. Photo by Barbara Newhall

No to Bride Barbie — Yes to a Real-Life Wedding

Melissa-Orme-painting

Is There an Upside to Widowhood? I’m Looking at the Possibilities

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2026 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in