Forgiveness.

For the last few years—after losing Dave, our happy 22-year marriage, and the future we’d planned together—holidays like Valentine’s Day have been drenched in pain and bitterness. Last year I dove straight into that despair and produced this image, one of my favorites of 2020. At first, feeling trepidation at being so openly vulnerable, I titled it “Heart in Hand.” Later I changed it to “Forgiveness” because the tiny bird I'm releasing here is like acceptance, letting all my past loves go with a blessing.

These holidays are still hard. Avoiding social media doesn’t really help, and I actually feel great affection for everyone who has great love in their lives. I'm rooting for you all! So I thought I’d repost this one today. Forgiveness.