Journey to Grateful

The Life Behind the Word explores how the people we meet today may know the life we're living, but not the life we're carrying. After meeting a woman who deliberately described herself as a “remarried widow,” Tim reflects on the importance of honoring the relationships, experiences, and losses that remain part of our identity even as life continues. From the familiar words widow and widower to the...

The Rest of the Picture explores the parts of long-term grief that often exist just outside what others can see. After an unexpected moment of tears arrived alongside genuine excitement about a major new step in his life, Tim reflects on why doing well and grieving are not opposites—and why happiness, anticipation, longing, laughter, tears, remembering, and becoming can all exist at the same time....

Who Am I Becoming Now? explores what happens when life after loss begins raising questions that don’t have—or need—prescribed answers. As people in Tim’s life gently begin mentioning dating, he reflects on why another relationship isn’t something he’s seeking, why dating is not a stage of widowhood, and why being without a partner doesn’t necessarily mean someone is waiting for one. Drawing on the...

The Quiet Loss of Being Expected explores one of grief’s most ordinary and easily overlooked absences: losing the person who noticed whether you were home, expected your call, listened to the details of your day, or simply accounted for you in their life. Tim reflects on widowhood, his sister’s instinct to call their parents after their deaths, and the new stillness of an empty nest to consider ho...

When grief is no longer the biggest thing in the room, does that mean we’re leaving something—or someone—behind? In this episode of Journey to Grateful , Tim explores a subtle and sometimes complicated change along the long road of grief: the moments when grief no longer demands all of our attention. This isn’t about grief getting smaller, reaching another stage, or finally “getting over” a loss....

When does surviving a life you didn't choose begin becoming a life that actually feels like yours? In this deeply personal episode, Tim explores one of the quieter transitions on the long road of grief—the gradual realization that life can begin to hold possibility, anticipation, and even things we genuinely want again. It doesn't happen on a schedule, and it doesn't mean grief is finished or the...

Why call a podcast about grief Journey to Grateful ? In this deeply personal episode, Tim shares the story behind the name—from the bereavement groups that helped him navigate the unfamiliar road after losing Colleen to a simple pillow she purchased years earlier bearing one powerful word: Grateful. Tim explores why gratitude does not mean being thankful for loss, how grief and gratitude can exist...

Love doesn’t end when someone dies—but our relationship with that love can continue to change. In this episode, Tim explores what it means to allow our memories, relationships, and even ourselves to evolve after loss without believing we’re leaving the person we love behind. Through reflections on seeing Colleen’s influence in their children, continuing to ask “What would Colleen do?” and the diff...

Why did this happen? Could I have done more? Will life ever truly make sense again? These are questions nearly every grieving person asks, yet many never receive the answers they long for. In this deeply personal episode, Tim reflects on the reality of living with unanswered questions and the surprising peace that can come when we stop waiting for every answer before allowing ourselves to continue...

Who are the people who stayed after your loss? In this heartfelt episode of Journey to Grateful , Tim reflects on the quiet, faithful friends and family members who continue showing up long after the funeral has ended and life appears to have moved on. Through personal stories and gentle reflection, he explores how simple acts of remembrance—a cup of coffee, a thoughtful text, a shared memory, or...

Journey to Grateful , Tim reflects on the quiet, often unnoticed ways love and loss continue shaping who we become. From greater compassion and patience to a deeper appreciation for ordinary moments, he explores how the influence of those we've loved never truly ends. This isn't an episode about becoming someone different because of grief. It's about recognizing the person love continues to shape...

Grief isn’t only experienced during anniversaries, birthdays, or milestone moments. More often, it quietly accompanies us through the ordinary routines of everyday life—the grocery store, household decisions, parenting conversations, and countless moments that once were shared with someone we love. In this episode, Tim reflects on the hidden weight of making everyday decisions alone while discover...

Life doesn’t slow down simply because we’re grieving. In this episode, Tim reflects on the reality that some seasons ask more of us than others, bringing together family milestones, difficult decisions, cherished memories, and the ongoing presence of grief. Through honest personal reflection, he explores what it means to carry both the responsibilities of everyday life and the weight of loss at th...

Am I grieving the right way? It’s one of the most common questions grieving people ask themselves, often without ever saying it out loud. In this episode, Tim explores the myth that grief follows a timeline or a predictable path and explains why comparing your journey to someone else’s can create unnecessary pain and self-doubt. Through personal reflections and insights gathered from years of bere...

Guilt is one of grief’s most persistent companions. In this episode, Tim explores the many forms guilt can take—from caregiving regrets and unanswered questions to the guilt of laughing, healing, and moving forward after loss. Along the long road of grief, guilt often disguises itself as responsibility, loyalty, or love, making it difficult to recognize and even harder to release. Through compassi...

Can grief and joy exist at the same time? In this episode, Tim explores one of the most surprising realities of long-term grief: the ability to feel profound gratitude and deep sadness simultaneously. Through reflections on his sons’ graduations, milestone moments, and conversations from his Kindred Spirits bereavement group, Tim discusses the coexistence of grief bombs and “joy bombs,” and why he...

When someone we care about is grieving, many of us want to help—but often aren’t sure how. In this episode, Tim explores the support grieving people actually need and why it is often far simpler than most people imagine. Through personal stories and reflections from his own journey, Tim discusses the importance of long-term support, the power of small gestures, and why presence matters more than p...

Why do so many grieving people feel like they have to stop talking about their grief as time passes? In this honest and heartfelt episode, Tim explores one of the most misunderstood realities of loss: grief does not simply disappear because years have gone by. As support from others often fades over time, many grieving people are left feeling emotionally isolated, misunderstood, or even pressured...

As grief evolves over time, many of us begin to realize something meaningful: the people we lose continue shaping our lives long after they are gone. In this episode, Tim reflects on the lasting influence of love and the ways those we miss most remain present through memory, values, traditions, and the lives they helped shape. Through personal stories about raising his sons after the loss of their...

Grief doesn’t always arrive on anniversaries or in expected moments. Sometimes it appears suddenly—a song, a scent, a memory, or an ordinary moment that unexpectedly brings tears to our eyes years after loss. In this episode, Tim reflects on what a member of his bereavement group once called “grief bombs”—those emotional ambush moments that can instantly reconnect us to the people we miss most. Wi...

One of the hardest realities of grief is realizing that life continues to move forward—even when someone we love is no longer here to experience it with us. In this episode, Tim reflects on the emotional weight of navigating changing seasons of life after loss: children growing older, milestones unfolding, routines evolving, and becoming someone you never imagined you’d have to become alone. Throu...

Loneliness in grief isn’t always what we expect—and it doesn’t always fade with time. In this episode, Tim explores how loneliness evolves along the long road of grief, shifting from the visible isolation of early loss to a quieter, more complex presence in the years that follow. As life continues to move forward, moments of connection and even joy can still carry an undercurrent of absence. With...

Much of the conversation around grief focuses on the early days and months after loss—the shock, the fog, and the painful “firsts.” But what happens in the years that follow? In this episode, Tim reflects on what he calls the middle years of grief, a quieter season where life continues forward while grief still walks beside us. With honesty and compassion, he explores the often unseen emotional we...

In this episode of Journey to Grateful , Tim explores a deeply personal and often unspoken part of grief — what happens when grief is given a name. For those who have lost a spouse, words like “widow” or “widower” can feel less like descriptors and more like labels imposed before the heart has had time to process the loss. These labels may serve a purpose in paperwork and systems, but emotionally,...

Nearly six years after losing his wife Colleen, Tim finds himself reflecting on a part of grief that few people talk about openly — the middle years. In the early days after loss, life often feels chaotic and uncertain, but there is still a clear purpose: caring for children, holding the family together, and simply surviving the unimaginable. But as time passes and children grow into adulthood, a...