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Itâs been 29 days since I lost my partner in a swimming accident. And for the 29th day, Iâm awake at an ungodly hour writing. Writing about his life, and mine. Writing about everything I learned and how deeply we loved in our too-short time together.
The last time I experienced a surge of creativity like this was three years ago, when my divorce was finalized. This wasnât one of your run-of-the-mill separations where we tried to work it out but couldnât. This divorce came on fast and hard and necessarily. But while I fully expected to fall apart, I didnât. Instead, in between waves of shock and grief, I learned to play a new instrument to remind me how brave I was. I started sharing my songs and writing publicly and started a new graduate school program. I wanted to remind myself I was still alive.