Fifty-three years ago on December 10 at noon, Jerry married his young bride, Pat. Today he remembers and celebrates their years together before her death seven years ago in November.
For thirty-nine years, at 3 p.m. on Christmas day, I celebrated my husband Mike's birthday until his death ten years ago two weeks before Christmas. Today I remember with great sadness and much joy those special times during the holidays.
Jerry and I are blessed that we found each other and although there will always be love in our hearts for Pat and Mike, there is also so much love in our hearts for each other.
And so we celebrate love, past and present this holiday season.
Merry Christmas
L.L. Lee
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR LOVE, LAUGHTER AND ADVENTURE
Just returned from Sicily where I had the experience of a lifetime. I am writing the latest book in my Sisters Series and I certainly found enough fun and excitement to keep my characters busy, happy, and in love with the land of their ancestors.
As I write the book, I realize that my characters have aged a little since the spin-off from Taxing Tallula, but they are never too old to enjoy life. And that's the way it should be.
Those of us who have experienced losses in our lives need to be reminded sometimes that until the day we leave this earth, we are still alive and need to do everything in our power to live, to love, to laugh.
The Sisters in Sicily should be available before Christmas. Be on the lookout for another fun adventure with the women from Louisiana.
L.L. Lee
As I write the book, I realize that my characters have aged a little since the spin-off from Taxing Tallula, but they are never too old to enjoy life. And that's the way it should be.
Those of us who have experienced losses in our lives need to be reminded sometimes that until the day we leave this earth, we are still alive and need to do everything in our power to live, to love, to laugh.
The Sisters in Sicily should be available before Christmas. Be on the lookout for another fun adventure with the women from Louisiana.
L.L. Lee
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
L.L. Lee Novels: Eternal Love
L.L. Lee Novels: Eternal Love: On what would have been my 49th wedding anniversary recently, I came across an old journal I'd written 10 years ago when my husband was ...
Eternal Love
On what would have been my 49th wedding anniversary recently, I came across an old journal I'd written 10 years ago when my husband was hospitalized prior to his passing. In the journal I describe our last journey together on this earth.
I wrote about a day he gave me the most precious gift. He had been moved from CCU to a room and our children had returned home after believing he had begun his recovery. It was in the evening and I remember being so tired and sad and feeling very defeated despite the fact he seemed to be doing better.
I was seated by his bed and had my right hand on his chest with my head lowered and my eyes closed. Suddenly I felt his hand cover mine. I wore a ring we had purchased with inheritance money from three aunts. The ring is a lovely antique one that I wear to this day.
He turned to look at me and just as I raised my head, he twirled the ring on my finger and smiled. He could only talk in a whisper at this time, but I knew what he was saying. I felt an overwhelming love at that moment.
As the ring went round and round on my finger, I understood the message he was giving me, I started crying. Eternal love. Love like ours never dies. Sometimes and it may be my imagination, but sometimes today, ten years later, I see that ring moving around my finger. I feel it going on and on in this circle of love that lasts forever.
I wrote about a day he gave me the most precious gift. He had been moved from CCU to a room and our children had returned home after believing he had begun his recovery. It was in the evening and I remember being so tired and sad and feeling very defeated despite the fact he seemed to be doing better.
I was seated by his bed and had my right hand on his chest with my head lowered and my eyes closed. Suddenly I felt his hand cover mine. I wore a ring we had purchased with inheritance money from three aunts. The ring is a lovely antique one that I wear to this day.
He turned to look at me and just as I raised my head, he twirled the ring on my finger and smiled. He could only talk in a whisper at this time, but I knew what he was saying. I felt an overwhelming love at that moment.
As the ring went round and round on my finger, I understood the message he was giving me, I started crying. Eternal love. Love like ours never dies. Sometimes and it may be my imagination, but sometimes today, ten years later, I see that ring moving around my finger. I feel it going on and on in this circle of love that lasts forever.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
L.L. Lee Novels: YOU NEVER REALLY STOP GRIEVING
L.L. Lee Novels: YOU NEVER REALLY STOP GRIEVING: I had lunch with two relatives recently . Both had lost their husbands six months earlier. One of the women had expected the death of her hu...
YOU NEVER REALLY STOP GRIEVING
I had lunch with two relatives recently . Both had lost their husbands six months earlier. One of the women had expected the death of her husband of almost fifty years, the other had not.
I watched as they dealt in entirely different ways with their losses. None of us who have lost a loved one grieves in the same way, and I don't think the grieving process ever ends.
Another friend lost her spouse almost fifteen years ago. The pain, the emptiness has never gone away. She still thinks about him daily.
And I still dream about my husband almost weekly after 10 years.
So, how do we get over our losses? We don't. And that's okay. We need to remember that if someone has been a part of our lives, we don't just forget. Divorce is as hard as death, I am told. When you lose someone who had been a part of you, even filling that void with someone or something else will not make you entirely complete again. One of my books, written after my husband died addresses in fictional form how I coped with his death.
A Bench on the Beach is available only in e book form and you can get it on Kindle. It deals with this issue of widowhood.
amazon.com/author/lllee
I watched as they dealt in entirely different ways with their losses. None of us who have lost a loved one grieves in the same way, and I don't think the grieving process ever ends.
Another friend lost her spouse almost fifteen years ago. The pain, the emptiness has never gone away. She still thinks about him daily.
And I still dream about my husband almost weekly after 10 years.
So, how do we get over our losses? We don't. And that's okay. We need to remember that if someone has been a part of our lives, we don't just forget. Divorce is as hard as death, I am told. When you lose someone who had been a part of you, even filling that void with someone or something else will not make you entirely complete again. One of my books, written after my husband died addresses in fictional form how I coped with his death.
A Bench on the Beach is available only in e book form and you can get it on Kindle. It deals with this issue of widowhood.
amazon.com/author/lllee
Thursday, May 9, 2013
AGING & ROMANCE: AN EXCERPT FROM A GOOD CATCH
I looked in the mirror the other day and realized that I looked my age. Not a good thing. My companion tells me he finds me attractive, but I think he says that because he loves me and is basically a kind man. Anyway, the last book I wote, A GOOD CATCH deals with the fact that even as we get older, being in love or with a caring person can make us feel young. Maybe just young at heart. But that's enough, isn't it? Heres the excerpt:
I am almost 69 years old. Luke always told me how beautiful I was. Even when my boobs started to sag and my lips got thinner and my waist got thicker. I manage to stay in fairly good shape with the help of Curves, but my legs are covered with broken vessels, the veins on my hands are starting to protrude, my neck tells my age and I even have a couple of wrinkles on my face. My mom who is ninety years old tells me I could pass for someone in my fifties but she can’t see very well. And now that Luke is gone, I do need a lot of convincing that my body, if not exactly hot, is still okay. Yes, Patrick O’Keefe may be a good catch, but because I don’t have a lot of self-confidence about my body, I do believe if someone caught each of us and only one of us was a keeper, I’m the one that most definitely would get thrown back in.
I am almost 69 years old. Luke always told me how beautiful I was. Even when my boobs started to sag and my lips got thinner and my waist got thicker. I manage to stay in fairly good shape with the help of Curves, but my legs are covered with broken vessels, the veins on my hands are starting to protrude, my neck tells my age and I even have a couple of wrinkles on my face. My mom who is ninety years old tells me I could pass for someone in my fifties but she can’t see very well. And now that Luke is gone, I do need a lot of convincing that my body, if not exactly hot, is still okay. Yes, Patrick O’Keefe may be a good catch, but because I don’t have a lot of self-confidence about my body, I do believe if someone caught each of us and only one of us was a keeper, I’m the one that most definitely would get thrown back in.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
DREAMS STILL REFLECT STRONG SENSE OF LOSS
A recent visit by my grandson was wonderful, especially since I had not seen him since Christmas. He reminds me so much of his grandfather with his great "Irish" sense of humor, his blue eyes and dark hair, his lanky physique. Although I lost my husband 10 years ago, I started dreaming about him again after my grandson's visit. In these dreams, he is no longer a part of my life. He is busy doing his own thing.
There is another love in my dreams, as there is my life. But, please know, all you widows and widowers out there, it may be "til death do us part," but for some of us the bonds are eternal. Never really broken.
For those of you who have lost partners and don't want to spend the rest of your lives alone, you may want to read "A GOOD CATCH." It's a humorous look at the dating game later in life. Go to
amazon.com/author/lllee
There is another love in my dreams, as there is my life. But, please know, all you widows and widowers out there, it may be "til death do us part," but for some of us the bonds are eternal. Never really broken.
For those of you who have lost partners and don't want to spend the rest of your lives alone, you may want to read "A GOOD CATCH." It's a humorous look at the dating game later in life. Go to
amazon.com/author/lllee
Monday, March 18, 2013
L.L. Lee Novels: MANY YEARS LATER
L.L. Lee Novels: MANY YEARS LATER: Bio For Nurses Reunion My partner, Jerry asked why I was having so much trouble writing a short bio for my Charity nurses reunion. He sa...
L.L. Lee Novels: L.L. Lee Novels: WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON...
L.L. Lee Novels: L.L. Lee Novels: WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON...: L.L. Lee Novels: WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON : For those of you who survived your first holiday season without your spouse/partner, I ...
Sunday, March 17, 2013
MANY YEARS LATER
Bio For Nurses Reunion
My partner, Jerry asked why I was having so much trouble writing a short bio for
my Charity nurses reunion. He said:
You graduated, you married Mike Lee, the love of your life. You had a son, you
adopted a daughter. You worked as a psychiatric nurse. You went back to school
and got a degree in psychology, then back to school and got a masters in
English. You wrote all this time. You were a wife, a mother, a grandmother of
two great kids and then Mike died, suddenly and too young at age 62. You
survived Katrina, took a trip to Europe a year after the storm where you met me
and lived happily ever after.
That would be one way to sum it up. But the fifty years since I graduated from
Charity is a period of love gained, love lost and love regained. So many family
members lost. My father, my mother at age 91 two years ago. My sister, Diane at
age 57. My dear friends, Rana, Linda and Mimi. My mother-in-law, my
brother-in-law, two nephews. And my wonderful husband, Michael Vinson Lee, who
died in 2003.
And the people who came into my life. My newest grandchild, Elin, only two years
old, Jerry and his seven children and ten grandchildren. New friends and family.
So much has happened in my life since Charity. And I have written about it. In
my fiction and non-fiction. My book, Jude’s Bench is a autobiographical
fictional account of my life. My Sisters Series are comedies/capers involving
mature women from Louisiana who travel and reflect the humor and love I feel for
my own sisters.
The one book I am really proud of is How To Survive Menopause Without Going
Crazy. I wrote it years ago and it has been revised several times. I could never
have written this book without a nursing background.. The book is written by
Leona Lipari Lee, MA RN. And I am so glad I got that RN from Charity. By the
way, we read it when I first wrote it. Now our daughters are reading it. It is
still available on Amazon & Kindle.
Thanks,
Lee
:
For more information about me & my writing, please go to
:www.amazon.com/author/lllee
My partner, Jerry asked why I was having so much trouble writing a short bio for
my Charity nurses reunion. He said:
You graduated, you married Mike Lee, the love of your life. You had a son, you
adopted a daughter. You worked as a psychiatric nurse. You went back to school
and got a degree in psychology, then back to school and got a masters in
English. You wrote all this time. You were a wife, a mother, a grandmother of
two great kids and then Mike died, suddenly and too young at age 62. You
survived Katrina, took a trip to Europe a year after the storm where you met me
and lived happily ever after.
That would be one way to sum it up. But the fifty years since I graduated from
Charity is a period of love gained, love lost and love regained. So many family
members lost. My father, my mother at age 91 two years ago. My sister, Diane at
age 57. My dear friends, Rana, Linda and Mimi. My mother-in-law, my
brother-in-law, two nephews. And my wonderful husband, Michael Vinson Lee, who
died in 2003.
And the people who came into my life. My newest grandchild, Elin, only two years
old, Jerry and his seven children and ten grandchildren. New friends and family.
So much has happened in my life since Charity. And I have written about it. In
my fiction and non-fiction. My book, Jude’s Bench is a autobiographical
fictional account of my life. My Sisters Series are comedies/capers involving
mature women from Louisiana who travel and reflect the humor and love I feel for
my own sisters.
The one book I am really proud of is How To Survive Menopause Without Going
Crazy. I wrote it years ago and it has been revised several times. I could never
have written this book without a nursing background.. The book is written by
Leona Lipari Lee, MA RN. And I am so glad I got that RN from Charity. By the
way, we read it when I first wrote it. Now our daughters are reading it. It is
still available on Amazon & Kindle.
Thanks,
Lee
:
For more information about me & my writing, please go to
:www.amazon.com/author/lllee
Saturday, February 23, 2013
L.L. Lee Novels: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
L.L. Lee Novels: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?: Remember the lines, "What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live?" And the words, "I believe in love." I've been thinking...
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
Remember the lines, "What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live?" And the words, "I believe in love."
I've been thinking a lot about this life lately, wondering what it's all about, and coming to the conclusion that it's all about love. That's why there's more than romance in my novels. There is also much love in my books. Books that I hope reflect life.
In fact, if you really think about it, life is only about love. Or should be. Love for parents, mates, children, grandchildren, friends. Love for pets as well as wildlife. Love of home, of community, of special retreats. Love for the beautiful birds, nature, the river, lakes, beaches, mountains. Love for the rain and the snow and the sunshine. Love for work, hobbies, books, movies, art. Love for gardens, for trees and the fruit that comes from some of them. Love for flowers and the peace that their beauty yields. I could go on and on.
So what prompted this sudden outpouring about love and of my love for this life?
I do believe in love. At this moment I especially believe in my love for a wonderful hundred year old nun who can still move me with her love for life and for me. Thanks Aunt Mina. I loved talking with you today. And, I love you.
I've been thinking a lot about this life lately, wondering what it's all about, and coming to the conclusion that it's all about love. That's why there's more than romance in my novels. There is also much love in my books. Books that I hope reflect life.
In fact, if you really think about it, life is only about love. Or should be. Love for parents, mates, children, grandchildren, friends. Love for pets as well as wildlife. Love of home, of community, of special retreats. Love for the beautiful birds, nature, the river, lakes, beaches, mountains. Love for the rain and the snow and the sunshine. Love for work, hobbies, books, movies, art. Love for gardens, for trees and the fruit that comes from some of them. Love for flowers and the peace that their beauty yields. I could go on and on.
So what prompted this sudden outpouring about love and of my love for this life?
I do believe in love. At this moment I especially believe in my love for a wonderful hundred year old nun who can still move me with her love for life and for me. Thanks Aunt Mina. I loved talking with you today. And, I love you.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
L.L. Lee Novels: WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON
L.L. Lee Novels: WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON: For those of you who survived your first holiday season without your spouse/partner, I want to remind you that this is a major step in heali...
WIDOWS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON
For those of you who survived your first holiday season without your spouse/partner, I want to remind you that this is a major step in healing your emotional pain. It will get a little easier as each year passes, but the emptiness will never go away entirely. I can tell you that after 9 years and a new love in my life, I still grieve for my husband of 40 years. I loved him for an eternity and death may have parted us in body, but not in spirit.
And so in the new year, I will continue my life as a writer. My new book will be a continuation of my Sisters Series, The Sisters in Sicily. Although my last book deals with finding new love (A Good Catch by L.L. Lee), the latest book will offer more laughter, love, and living with hope in the future.
Happy New Yeartwitteramazon/author/lllee
And so in the new year, I will continue my life as a writer. My new book will be a continuation of my Sisters Series, The Sisters in Sicily. Although my last book deals with finding new love (A Good Catch by L.L. Lee), the latest book will offer more laughter, love, and living with hope in the future.
Happy New Yeartwitteramazon/author/lllee
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