Oh, David, how kind you are to ask. I've been thinking of you, too.

It's been 101 days since Byron died. I promised myself I'd stop counting after 100. I still cry every single day, I still can't really believe he's dead. I still miss him like I'd miss an arm or a leg. I am still so much in love with him.

I've lost nearly 20 lbs, but that seems to be stabilizing.

Most of my friends don't bring him up much in conversation anymore. He's part of their past, though he's still so much a part of my present.

But the daily existance part of this is easier. I can also laugh, joke, get through each day. I'm having the hardest time with getting ready for a new chorus concert season- just finding the time and collecting the music feels more like a chore. And Byron used to record my "teaching tape" for me, and I have to do it on my own with the lowest possible technology this year. That feels like more work than I feel up to.
But I sing with friends, and I'm learning to play the concertina, which feels like the instrument I've been lookng for all my life!

So, I'm surviving, despite my expectations. And I'm grateful for good friends.

Allison