Hi, I'm Maria Curiel.  I became a widow 45 days after my 40th birthday.  My husband, Ricky, was only 40 years old, and our daughter was just 21 months old when he passed away.

What started as a diagnosis of fatty liver disease quickly turned into something much more serious.  Over the course of a year, my husband endured three ICU stays, included being life flighted.  Two of those stays happened in June, the same month we lost him.  He was even released home for nine days before his last hospitilization, when his organs began to shut down.  In the end, I had to make a heartbreaking decision to take him off life support.

Grief is hard.  Learning how to navigate that grief while raising a small child made it even harder.

Over the time, though, I learned that grief and love can exist together.  I wanted my daughter to grow up knowing her father not only through sadness, but through stories, laughter, memories and the love he gave us.  We learned to carry grief while still finding ways to keep his memory alive and present in our lives.

One of the ways I honor him is through a memorial scholarship fund created in his name to support local culinary students, reflecting his love of cooking and bringing people together through food.  I've learned that sometimes healing comes through the little things we do to continue their legacy.

When you become a widow, it can feel incredibly isolating, like no one else could possibly understand the weight you're carrying.  But there is comfort in finding people who truly get it.  People who understand that sometimes there are no right words.  That tears can be a language all their own.  That grief is complicated, exhausting and deeply personal.

If my story speaks to you, I hope you know you do not have to walk this path alone.  Reach out.  There is strength in community, in shared stories, and in reminding each other that even in grief, we are still here, growing through what we never asked to carry.

With love,

Maria