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ron stempkowski

  • the xanax diary
  • about ron
    • about ken
  • awards
    • Mountain Climbing for Beginners
  • the ronaissance
  • my faves
  • second city
  • publication
    • Extraordinary Healers Vol. 7
  • media
  • travel
    • Costa Rica (June 2018)
    • Iceland (March 2020)

ron stempkowski

love, loss, healing, and humor…in no particular order

  • the xanax diary
  • about ron
    • about ken
  • awards
    • Mountain Climbing for Beginners
  • the ronaissance
  • my faves
  • second city
  • publication
    • Extraordinary Healers Vol. 7
  • media
  • travel
    • Costa Rica (June 2018)
    • Iceland (March 2020)

Category: Grief

Notes from the Introvert: Connect with What Drives You for Its Own Sake

Notes from the Introvert: Connect with What Drives You for Its Own Sake

Posted on April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 by Ron Stempkowski
It’s been a long time since I’ve spent so much time alone–probably harkening back to the first couple of years after my husband Ken‘s death in 2011. Then, my isolation was self... Read More
A World Gone...Kind

A World Gone…Kind

Posted on April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 by Ron Stempkowski
I returned from Iceland on March 13 after a week of adventures in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. And while I was gone, the entire world changed. Completely. But it seems wherever I lo... Read More
The Refuge of Fridays

The Refuge of Fridays

Posted on February 22, 2020May 14, 2022 by Ron Stempkowski
I’ve been thinking a lot about Fridays lately; how much I love them. And look forward to them. How they feel like a warm cocoon after a challenging week of work. And how drastically my feelings abou... Read More
January 18: A Decade Later

January 18: A Decade Later

Posted on January 20, 2020May 14, 2022 by Ron Stempkowski
I’m pretty ardent with the attention I pay to my calendar and to my journal (and to my blog, for that matter), marking it with momentous occasions—both good and bad. Ken’s cancer and death were ... Read More
The Matriarch

The Matriarch

Posted on October 13, 2019October 14, 2019 by Ron Stempkowski
Ken was part of a wonderful family. When I entered said family in the early 2000s, Ken’s gram, Anne, reigned over it. Her home in Michigan City, Indiana, was the hub of family gatherings every holid... Read More
Dear Dad: A Year of Truths

Dear Dad: A Year of Truths

Posted on August 15, 2019May 14, 2022 by Ron Stempkowski
Dear Dad, A year? I still shake my head. How could it be a year since you died? My unstoppable, force-of-nature father. The man who I’m named for. The man who I get my height and my blues eyes from.... Read More
Honoring the Day

Honoring the Day

Posted on June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 by Ron Stempkowski
June 1 used to feel like a prison of the worst kind. The kind I was forced to visit annually. And be held there for 24 hours, reliving the events of 2011 when Ken died. Dread for the following year be... Read More
When Bloggers Collide

When Bloggers Collide

Posted on April 25, 2019April 25, 2019 by Ron Stempkowski
Being a writer is foundational to who I am. It’s integral. And it’s given me gifts over the years, and certainly played a key part in helping me to work through my grief when Ken died in 2011.... Read More
Porcelain

Porcelain

Posted on March 23, 2019March 16, 2019 by Ron Stempkowski
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The First of the Firsts

The First of the Firsts

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Ron Stempkowski
My family has celebrated Thanksgiving early for so long, I don’t think we remember when we didn’t. It stemmed out of a long-standing tradition my parents started by taking a month before C... Read More
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Ron Stempkowski

Ron Stempkowski

I'm an award-winning essayist and audience-focused word ninja living in Chicago. I have a passion for storytelling with words and images/videos.

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